


Midnight At The Continental

by LightBlueFlower



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 1950s, 1960s, Adultery, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - 1960s, Angst, Canada, Chinatown, F/F, F/M, FACES family, Family Feels, First part is the travel part, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Likeky not because its not matthews time to shine, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Period-Typical Racism, Sexism, This story has parts but rochu is the longer pivotal part, Toronto, including the gay scene in toronto hell yeah, is a theme as well, oh and, poland is a drag queen, prucan, there's like a passing mention of swefin, we're going to be exploring a lot of cultures boys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-05-16 04:59:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14804822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightBlueFlower/pseuds/LightBlueFlower
Summary: 1950s/1960s AU RoChuAfter his father is taken as a prisoner by the government and his mother has fallen ill, 21 year old Yao Wong illegally escapes China to live with his aunt in Hong Kong. When the family decides to immigrate to Toronto, Canada, Yao must take on and live under a false identity, running the risk of being deported back to China and facing the severe consequences that escaping would bring to him.While living his life as their paper son in Chinatown, Yao encounters a young Russian man at The Continental Hotel, who would change his life.





	1. 福 Luck - 1. The Deep Bay

**Author's Note:**

> *The names will be written in the Chinese order rather than Western within the chapters until Yao reaches Canada* (e.g. Yao Wong would be Wong Yao)

**Part 1 : Luck**

**Characters**

Yao Wong - China

Chun-Yan Lieng - OC Yao's mother

Lei Wong - OC Yao's father

 Dong - OC 

* * *

 

 **Chapter 1 - The Deep Bay**  

春季到来绿满窗，  
大姑娘窗下绣鸳鸯。  
忽然一阵无情棒，  
打得鸳鸯各一旁。

 _Spring comes and the window fills with green_  
_A maiden sits by the window embroidering a pair of mandarin ducks_  
_Suddenly, a heartless blow_  
_Splits the ducks in two_

_***_

**August, 1957**

Inhaling the cold salty air sharply, he couldn’t help but be reminded of the times when he was younger, much younger than he is now, and when he would take his rusty bike with his friends down the dirt road from his grade school to the estuary nearby that connected to this very bay he stood in front of, to the wider ocean that was unknown to him.

 _Hau Hoi Wan_ was what they called this bay - the Back Bay - and for quite some time, the man had always been envious of the fishermen on there long narrow boats on the sea, steadying themselves as they would toss a long nets made of intricately tied ropes, hauling in fish. He would rather sit on a boat all day than work in the rice fields his family owned in the small village of Jinqiu that was much further away from the coolness of the ocean and consumed by the heat of the sun.

The man was looking at the same body of water that he would stare out at as a young student- however, he stared at the dark waters in front of him with fear and dread rather than with the wonder and anticipation he would have had. He glanced ahead at the darkness that laid before him, no sight of land to be seen. The reflection of the moon could be seen rippled on the water that was far from still, and as he glanced up to the ink black night sky freckled with a few heavy clouds rolling in the distance, he wanted to remain static in this moment.

He wanted to go back home. He wanted to turn around and traverse back to Jinqiu, not caring that it would take him another week by walking to get there. He wanted to see his Mama again, even though at this point, she is nothing more than skins and bones.

Alas, he knew he had nothing left to turn back to. He had no future here, either in Jinqiu or anywhere in the province of Guangdong. His Baba was likely dead at this point, and his Mama- his poor, lovely Mama- was laying on her deathbed at home, painfully dying from pneumonia under the watchful eye of the village women.

He glanced back to the village that was a few meters away from the shore, and saw the flickering flames of the lanterns within the small stick huts die slowly, one by one.

This is the last time he would be in China. The last thing he’ll see is Shenzhen- this poor, tiny village that he watched silently. In the next four hours, he’ll either be a dead floating body in the bay, or he would have made it to the shores of Hong Kong safely.

“Yao,” a low, steady tone, drew the man’s attention away from the lanterns to the side.

He had travelled from their tiny village to the village to Shenzhen with a few other men around his age with the same goal he had- to leave China and make it Hong Kong in one piece.

Had travel not been restricted between Hong Kong and China, they would not have to resort to swimming across the Back Bay in order to get to the old British colony. It was the only way- there was no Hong Kong patrols in the bay, and it was better than attempting to be smuggled through a boat where they would be grave consequences for being caught.

The man who he knew as Dong, a close family friend who was few years older than Yao, and who had promised his mother that he would accompany Yao to Hong Kong. Dong had been planning on doing this since the first wave of soldiers marched through their village, gathering all the men who were considered to be rightist by the government standards.

Yao’s dad, Wong Lei, was one of those men. Along with Dong’s father, they rushed them into a military van, whisking them away after causing further chaos by burning the a few of the crops of land the village owned.

Chun-Yan, Yao’s mother, had begged Dong to take Yao to Hong Kong with him in order to escape the potentially devastating fate that may befell him if he continued to live in Guangdong. She specifically wanted him to go to Un Long Town, a town in the innerland that was a popular place that Chinese mainlanders aim to land according to the bandit Dong had arranged this journey with. This town was where Yao knew his aunt, his mother’s younger sister, Lieng Chun-Yi, lived with her three children, and he knew that they were the only ones he could turn to for solace.

Yao did not trust the bandit in the least, with his unkempt short hair and short beard that was unusual for young men to wear, and the sinister look in his beady eyes as he accepted the payment from Dong. Yao, however, did trust Dong, and as long as he was beside him in this journey, he knew he would be safe.

He hoped he would be safe.

“Come what may, I’ll be by your side,” Dong said, narrow eyes maintaining eye contact with Yao’s, making the latter even more uneasy than he already was. “I promised Auntie Liang to take you to your aunt safely.”

Yao simply nodded, not knowing what to say and took one last look at the village, longingly. He had accepted that there was no home to turn back to. He took a step forward, his bare feet tipping into the cold water, sending goosebumps throughout his body.

His mind blanked, the light splashing of legs running towards the water could be heard as he slowly walked forward, fear leaving his body.

* * *

 

 _“From the end of the world, to the farthest sea_  
_I searched for my heart's partner_  
_A young girl sings, while he accompanies her on the instrument_  
_Our love through the hard times is deep indeed_  
_Oh, our love through the difficult times is deep”_

One of Yao’s earliest memory of his younger days was hearing this song playing on the small radio their family owned, on a warm spring day. His mother was making their afternoon meal, sitting on the floor of their kitchen as she washed the rice in a bowl, while Yao was staring out from the open door to their flat yard, his legs swaying idly to the song. He was likely waiting for his father to return from the rice fields, but the details were vague.

He knew he had loved this particular song, with the tune being oh too familiar. His mother always hummed this particular song to herself as she went about her family chores, and when she would try to lull Yao to sleep.

When he first heard the song on the radio, albeit the reception they received from their village was terribly, with the static interfering here and there, he instantly fell in love with the singer, with the way her words flowed out in a high voice, and with the beautiful erhu that accompanied her throughout the song.

 _“The song is called ‘The Wandering Songstress’,”_ Chun-Yan said after the song had finished and Yao had questioned her about it. Yao sat in front of her, staring, as she continued to shift the rice through the water. Her thick black hair was pulled back into a bun, a scarf pushing back her stray hairs, and yet, she still looked young for her age. _“Zhou Xuan is the singer.”_

Chun-Yan continued, her warm brown eyes glazing over as if she were looking into a far distant. _“She released this song the year you were born. She was quite a doll in Street Angel! If only I had a photo of her to show you- your father and I went to watch her movies in Guangzhi.”_

Yao only half cared about the latter information, not caring much for the trivial affairs of his parents, but the name Zhou Xuan was imprinted in his mind, and the song in association. The singer was further imprinted after his mother showed him a torn photograph of the singer that she had kept for quite some time, Yao instantly falling in love with the singer’s entire being.

Even now as an adult, listening to Zhou Xuan’s voice puts his mind at ease, wrapping his body in the warmth and happiness of a lover’s want and affair. Oddily, however, hearing the song filled him with safety as well. It was the safety of his mother that he sensed in the song, who he could still sometimes hear her soft voice singing and humming the song, even though she has stopped doing ever since she fell ill.

But as he swam through the cold waters in front of him, the cold air filling his lungs causing a distinct pain and his body feeling numb, he repeated the song in his head, in his mother’s voice.

 _“Looking north from my mountain nest_  
_My tears fall and wet my blouse_  
_Missing him, I will not rest_  
_Only love that lasts through hard time is true”_

And he kept going. And going. And going.

* * *

Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party of China, formally gained power on October 1st, 1949. Not only did Yao have this memorized in head from the yearly military marches that would be broadcasted in the village leaders television and every villager would clamour around to witness the black and white images play in front of them with wide eyes, but he would constantly be reminded of this fact due to him being born on October 1st as well.

Yao was born in the year 1937, a few months after the first attack by the Japanese in Peking, preluding the Second Sino-Japanese War and allowing Japanese occupation that lasted well until the fall of 1945. These parts of history have always been drilled in Yao’s head, from his lessons at his school to what his father would vividly recount to him. Though, as luck may have it, they were never apart of the conflict zone or targets of incidents with the Japanese army, and Yao’s life during the war was nothing more than a blur of various colourful parts of the village.

Wong Lei had always supported the Communist Party- as a farmer in a village forgotten by the state, they fought for the poor and forgotten of China. Yao remembers hiding behind the wall separating the living room to the kitchen, snippets of fuzzy discussions of support from men during the civil war, drinking from small clay cups while Chun-Yan would bring in a fresh pot of tea. Most had supported Chairman Mao and wanted the KMT gone.

“He is for the people,” the men would say, a slogan that stuck with the CPC in the public’s mind, and would be carried when Chairman Mao proclaimed that their nation was now the People’s Republic of China.

Until after his election, however, they started to have complex feelings about how he handled the situation in China. Closed borders and lack of resources affected the village much more than what they expected to be. Censorship was the main issue with Yao’s father, who was a man of many opinions and have the skills to sway anyone who cared to listen to him talk. And in their village, there were plenty of people willing to listen.

He could have been a scholarly man, Chun-Yan had told Yao. He could have went to university if he wanted to, with a strong personality and the willingness to learn and write of many topics, especially in politics. Yao has seen his collection of books and papers that were tucked away in the corner of the house, layered in dust due to neglect.

Yao admired his father for his opinions. He admired that he stood up for what he believed in.

His opinions caused his own downfall, alas.

It had happened so fast. The day was like any other July day, the sun high and bright, the trees swaying to the light wind as wind chimes could be heard from the distance. Yao was pulling water from the well on the outskirts of the village and was walking up the dirt path towards home when he heard distant yelling and cries. 

He walked to his house to find a hanful of men in the green uniforms with guns in their hands, ready to hurt anyone who interfered.

"Wong Lei," a man who stood taller than the rest of the soldiers, with his red sash and medals that signified he was of higher rank, barked out as two soldiers held Yao's father between them, nearly dragging his legs through the dirt. "You are under arrest for cultivating a rightist movement against the government of the People's Republic of China."

Yao couldn't do anything other than sneak into his house to find his mother on the ground, sobbing and alone, but unharmed. The house was a mess, with the table being flipped over, and his father's books ripped up and splayed across the floor.

Within a blink of an eye, they left, with other men who they claimed to be rightists, and thus a threat to the government. Yao never heard from his father again.

From the rumours that surrounded this campaign the government is holding, his father would be in a camp either working as a hard labourer or dead.

For his father’s sake, Yao had hoped that he was executed, and his spirit would be liberated from the shackles of this world, and he could live eternally in the peace he could not receive while alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
> ▪Yao Wang -> Yao Wong  
> Due to Yao originating from the southern province of Guangdong in China, where there are alot of native Cantonese speakers, I changed his last name to the Cantonese equivalent
> 
> ▪The Anti-Rightist Campaign was a reaction by Mao against the Hundred Flowers Campaign (which was also controlled by Mao's government in order to encourage citizens to openly express their opinions on the government). The campaign was to arrest and persecute "rightists" (vague, but those who may favour capitalism). The first wave was in July 1957.
> 
> ▪Jinqiu is a fictional village further from the capital city of Guangzhou, most likely near where modern Duangguan is
> 
> ▪The Back Bay is the literal translation for the Shenzhen Bay (or Deep Bay)
> 
> ▪Zhou Xuan  
> She was a Chinese singer and actress during the early 1930s till her death in September 1957. Her career was mostly in Shanghai, and gained prominence by the 1940s. 
> 
> The first stanza at the beginning is from her song "Song of the Four Seasons", which appeared in the 1937 movie "Street Angel" where her other song mentionned, "The Wandering Songstress" also makes an appearance. 
> 
> Her songs and her character is a theme in this story because I think Yao in this story would idolize her.
> 
> ▪The Continental Hotel mentionned in the summary will make an appearance in Part 2, but it was basically a lounge in Toronto's old Chinatown during the 1950s-1960s where lesbians would hang out. Since Canada had restricted Chinese immigration, Chinese male workers were mostly 'bachelors', and a lot of them would go to The Continental Hotel to basically form relationships with these women (whether sexual or platonic)
> 
> A/N:  
> I was reading a lot of Toronto's queer history, and when I heard about the Continental Hotel, I was inspired to write this story. After learning more about old Chinatown, I learned about the history of Paper Sons in Canada, I was able to weave this tale. Some things may not be accurate, but I tried my best to research all these things beforehand.
> 
> I never really written a historical story, so hopefully this is not too bad. Trying to change my writing style too to suit it but idk, let's see!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this and would continue to read this tale ^_^


	2. 福 Luck - Chapter 2: The Town of Un Long

**Characters**

Chun-Yi Lieng- OC Yao's aunt

Jun-Min - OC

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Town of Un Long**

夏季到来柳丝长，  
大姑娘漂泊到长江。  
江南江北风光好，  
怎及青纱起高粱。

 _Summer comes and the willow fronds grow long_  
_The maiden has been blown south of the river_  
_The scenery is lovely all over the land_  
_But how can it compare to the green gauzy sorghum at home?_

_***_

The last time Yao swam in the ocean was in the August after his last year in the secondary school his father had partly forced him to enrol into. Most kids when they were finished with primary would usually work in the fields alongside their parents, but both of Yao’s parents were avid about him ensuing higher education.

 _“I would rather you attend a university and have an industrial job than work in the fields with me,_ ” his father had told him when Yao finished his primary schooling.

Truthfully, his father wanting Yao to pursue a non-agricultural job made sense- their land was going through a rapid industrial growth, and job prospects in that area had increased and expanded to academic fields in universities.

Yao was good at the lessons at school and he won’t deny that he enjoyed learning. He was happy that his parents didn’t force him to work in the rice field, and he was grateful for the opportunity as well. It was an opportunity that his father couldn’t afford to have, even if he never ended up using it to the fullest and ending in the fields to help his struggling family as soon as he finished his studies.

Truly, thought, the only thing he could think about fondly during those years was his friend, Jun-Min.

At least, that’s what he referred to Jun-Min as publicly, to his parents and to his village friends.

They had known each other from their primary years, but it wasn’t until secondary school when Yao really started to speak to and be around Jun-Min. They were the few students who had decided to continue to pursue more than a basic education, and after being seated beside each other on the first day of class, they instantly become friends.

Jun-Min came from a fishermen village, near the ocean shore, and he and Yao would bike to their school, meeting at the point where their roads crossed paths. When Yao wanted to avoid going back home, he would follow Jun-Min’s lead down the path to his village, where they would spend the rest of the evening on the shoreside.

He had learned how to swim properly due to Jun-Min, who would hold Yao afloat countless times as he attempts to kick and stroke his arms through the waters without sinking. It had taken a good summer break for Yao to get the hang of swimming, and it began to become a pass time that they both enjoyed doing after a hot day helping their parents with their work.

Yao’s memories of Jun-Min was as clear and vivid as a blue summer sky, as if he had seen the boy just the other day.

He could see him standing on the sandy beaches and staring out into the horizon- with his tan skin glowing golden under the setting sun, his messy black hair swaying gently with the ocean breeze, and his chest exposed, having abandoned the white uniform shirt for nothing. His muscles compact along his arms and upper body would flex slightly at certain movements he would make, while skipping a few rocks or helping someone bring their boat to shore, and Yao would look at him in admiration.

Yao loved the way Jun-Min would make him feel. Time was nonexistent whenever Yao would be with him, his stomach in a knot, and he felt as if he were in a movie, with Zhou Xuan singing of love in the background. His heart fluttered each time Jun-Min would laugh and smile at Yao’s haughty nature and his attraction only grew.

He loved his scent. He smelled like the saltiness of the ocean along, and it would cling onto Yao’s body and clothing as he would leave late in the evening to return home, far away from the sea.

He loved the creases in his body- he loved tracing his fingers along the lines as they laid down in the foliage further away, far from the eyes of adults’ suspicions. He loved his lips, the way they were always soft and knew just where to place itself on Yao’s skin, with care. He loved the way Jun-Min’s hands, long and calloused, would run through his hair, and along his legs, as Yao would loosely whisper sweet nothings into his ear, coaxing for more.

They have talked about eloping, in the ways they could only do it. They were both boys after all- who has ever heard of male lovers? It was illegal to do the things they have done, and safety came with being under the guise of being friends. They had plans in their final year for Yao to continue on to Tianjin University in order to travel away from their families and away from any sort of village suspicions that had started to from their lack of courting girls’ their age.

They could have been so perfect together.

Yao truly believed he was destined to be with Jun-Min, a dream that he yearned to have for so long from hearing the tales of the ancients and their destined love affairs.

That everlasting dream shattered one summer day, after his last year of secondary school.

Out along the shores one early afternoon, Yao knew his parents would have travelled to the town nearby in order to take care of business, and would not return until nightfall. Jun-Min had been quieter than usual that week, a stark contrast to his boisterous self, and Yao figured that it has been a while since they have been alone, and it may lighten his lover’s mood.

They silently walked up to the gates of Yao’s home, entering after casually greeting passerbys before entering Yao’s home, being sure to close the windows and the door in his small room in case of anyone attempting to peer through.

They touched and made love in secrecy, quietly that all can be heard is the sound of the birds singing outside, and as they laid on Yao’s small bed in the corner, Yao finally decided to ask his lover what had him remain quiet.

“Min-Min,” Yao said smoothly, as Jun-Min snuggled into his chest, Yao’s lithe arms around him. “You’ve been quiet the entire day. What’s wrong?”

After a silence befell them shortly, Jun-Min spoke.

“I need to tell you something, Yao,” Jun-Min said, pulling himself away from the embrace to look up to Yao.

“Is it that you love to admire me?” Yao teased, a cheeky smile on his face, but the lack of response to his joke from Jun-Min made his smile falter. He leaned on his arm slightly to give him a slight leverage to sit over Jun-Min.

“I’m planning on joining the military,” Jun-Min said softly, his tone inflecting slightly, lifting a hand to run his hand through Yao’s strands of hair that fell loosely under his ear, as if to soften the meaning behind his words.

Yao blinked, confused. He knew that there was a mandatory enrollment on the military roster once one turns 18, along with the mandatory military training and service for two years , however, actually being apart of the Chinese military afterwards was completely voluntary. The army had enough young men who wanted to play a part of protecting the motherland- and they had until the age of 22 to start the service, with Yao wanting to avoid service as long as he was legally allowed to.

“Yes, and you’ll be done in 2 years,” Yao continued, his voice unsure why Jun-Min had said it. Yao knew that his lover wanted to finish the service as quickly as possible, but had decided to wait a bit until they had settled on a home base. Jun-Min had wanted to try his hand at picking up a different skill while in Tianjin, the military and fisherman life not suiting him well.

“No, I…” Jun-Min’s voice trailed off, maintaining eye contact. “No, I mean I’m enrolling to the military. Permanently. I’m going to do my mandatory service as soon as I can and continue there.”

“I don’t understand,” Yao said, panick settling starting to grown. “I thought you were coming with me to Tianjin. We agreed that-”

“Things change,” Jun-Min huffed coldly, now turning his face to look forward, as Yao shifted himself to sit up alongside him. He continued with the same low voice, “I can’t just follow you blindly. I need to actually do something with my life. Joining the military would be beneficial- they receive a steady income and it’s easier than just doing anything I could find in Tianjin.”

“You’ve always been against doing the mandatory service,” Yao interrupted in a hushed voice, trying hard to keep his voice steady as a lump grew in his throat, making it hard to breathe. “This is the first time I’ve heard of you wanting to receive a steady wage or anything of this sort. If you honestly felt this way, then why didn’t you just tell me so I didn’t have to apply to Tianjin! I could have applied to someplace close by-”

“Why does what I do matter to you?” Jin-Min grumbled, the flame of anger in Yao growing. “It’s not like we’re engaged.”

“You promised me you’d live with me!” Yao replied sharply, exhaling as he put his face in his hands, trying to breathe. He didn’t understand what was happening- everything Jun-Min was saying was sudden. “What happened to you?”

A deafening silence ensued, the sounds of their breathing filling the air.

“Min?” Yao asked weakly, waiting for a reply.

No answer.

“Jun-Mi-”

“My parents arranged for me to get married!” Jin-Min exclaimed finally in a voice that Yao has never heard him use, his fists clenching harder to the point they were shaking.

Yao closed his mouth, gritting his teeth together, the lump in his throat swelling bigger. He tried to maintain the strength in his voice, but it came out broken. “How long ago did they arrange this?”

“A week ago,” Jun-Min whispered hoarsely, not looking up. He continued solemnly, “She’s a family friend from another village along the shore. She’s only a year younger than us, and…”

His voice trailed off, and Yao didn’t say anything, trying hard to swallow, feeling the tips of his eyes suddenly wet. He had known that Jun-Min’s parents wanted for him to marry, always bringing up the topic even when Yao is around, but Yao didn’t expect them to already find an engagement this soon after they finished their studies.

“They want me to marry her in early September.” That was only two weeks away.

“And you never told me?” Yao asked, and now he could feel his face slowly flush red, tears threatening to spill.

“How was I supposed to tell you,” Jun-Min replied half-heartedly, finally looking up to Yao, his face looking just as much distressed as Yao. “I want to join the military so I would be far away from them-this is the only way Yao.”

“It’s not the only way,” Yao replied lowly, but even he knew how hard it was to break an engagement. People always married for the honour of it, and breaking the engagement would only bring dishonour to Jun-Min and his family.

Yao tried to happy around Jun-Min the rest of the time they had together, but it felt as if he was drowning slowly in the waves, the pain only grower as days passed by. Yao refused to meet him near his place, and Jun-Min would go to his village, but they weren’t as close as they were that day.

That day was the last time Yao ever went swimming. It was the last time he went to the oceanside.

And it was the last time he saw Jun-Min as his.

* * *

 

_I should have drowned._

The sky was as dark as they had left it, with the moon shifting slightly over to the west of Yao. Unless Yao was hallucinating the image in front of him due to the state of his body, unfeeling and exhausted. He took a deep painful breathe, his lungs feeling as if they were going to burst, but as soon as he felt his heart race decreased slowly to a normal pace, the cramps in his stomach tapered off slightly.

Maybe he should have drowned. But he didn’t. No, four hours of what he could equate to as the underworld, Yao found himself lying on his back on the sandy shores of assumed was the the land of his neighbours across the ocean border.

He had miraculously made it.

Dong, however, did not.

Yao had looked all across the shore, cold and hungry and tire, yet determined to find the man he would consider his elder brother. He stopped when the other men they had travelled with told him to give up.

He had to mourn Dong’s death silently, not wanting to appear weak in a time where he was the most vulnerable amongst these strangers.

The bandit that had greeted them on the shore was much kinder than the one that travelled with them to Shenzhen, however, there was still a conniving glint in his eyes- particularly when he had a good look at Yao, who was considerably smaller and slimmer than the other men. Thank the heavens he had decided to cut his hair once again before leaving- he may have been a target of unwanted attention if he had kept his longer hair.

Yao had to find his aunt, Chun-Yi. His aunt would have taken her husband’s name- likely he would have to look for Li Chun-Yi rather than Lieng Chun-Yi. All he really knew about her from what his Mama had told him in a hoarse voice was that they owned a tavern, a building called The Golden Coast, much near the heart of the marketplace.

They travelled by foot, once again. A few of the older men had to stay behind to relax and catch their breath, while a few of the younger ones trudged along with Yao down the path the bandit took them on. The trees stood tall, their leafy branches almost forming a bridge over their heads, blocking out the sky and only allowing slivers of moonlight through.

Yao hugged his body tightly as they walked, the coolness of the night a curse for him this one time. He should have stayed behind and waited for his clothes to drench properly into the sand, but god knows what would have happened if he had stopped and stayed with the elder men. He was no safer now, but at least he was travelling at his destination without delay.

By the time they had left the densely packed part of the path, the sky was painted various warm shades of purple, orange, and pinks, with the sun silently peeking out from the horizon to the east. The air was much warmer as they progressed, and they soon reached a low plane filled with rice fields on both sides, the plants swaying with the wind that blew.

They reached what Yao assumed to be the town of Un Long, with it’s brick buildings taller than any Yao has ever seen in Guangdong. He could hear the distant sounds of the town life, and they neared a unguarded gate, where a few people entered and exited at will.

As the men that Yao travelled with walked in one by one, Yao noticed the bandit turning on his heels back to the path they had just taken.

“Wait,” Yao exclaimed when he saw the bandit start to trail away from the front. “I thought you agreed to take me to The Golden Coast.”

“The only thing I agreed to do was to take you folks to Un Long Town,” the bandit replied huskil, not bothering to look at Yao properly. “You’re on your own kid. Now scram before I gut your insides and sell 'em.”

A distasteful threat, and Yao frowned to show he did not want to be apart of some illegal organ donor cartel. He quickly left, walking down the dirt road that soon turned into cemented grounds, trying to avoid touching anyone that passed by.

As he looked at his new surroundings, taking in the people with their outfits Yao has rarely seen so commonly and the tall buildings with it's lights, for the first time in his life, Yao truly felt like he was alone in the world.

He could see that people were actually awake and walking along the sidelines, and a few were in front of the stores to pull up the metallic storefront gates, and he walked around them, his feet still bare.

After aimlessly looking around for a while, Yao came to the point where he truly had no idea where he was. He became overwhelmed by the sudden sounds of the rickshaw’s wheels rolling down the street, along with the squeaking of the buses stopping here and there along the sidelines, and the sounds of people yelling and talking in a dialect that was both familiar and unfamiliar to Yao. The business of the town made him uncomfortable and he needed to find his way to the tavern before he faints from exhaustion.

“Excuse me, sir," he asked a man who was quickly walking down the row, muttering something under his breathe. The man had a permanent frown on his face, and snapped when Yao stopped him.

“What is it kid?”

Yao was taken aback from the aggressiveness in the stranger’s voice, and how he looked like he wanted to leave quickly- a contrast to how slow paced were where he lived. “Can you tell me where _The Golden Coast_ is? It’s a tavern owned by my aunt and-”

“It’s on the western side of the Shan Pui River,” the man said gruffly, gesturing towards the other side, before turning his back towards Yao to go about his business, leaving Yao at a loss of words.

 _This is how Hongkongers are, I guess_ , Yao thought absentmindedly, a bit annoyed with how blunt the man was, and he followed the direction where the man had gestured, only to reach what he assumed was the Shan Pui River. It was more of a stream than a river at this point, being thin and flowing downstream peacefully. Further up the river was a bridge connecting to the western portion of the town, and Yao hastitly walked over the bridge, attempting to ignore how heavy his legs have become and the looks from passersby.

As he entered a path in the between the buildings, he was immediately hit with the scent of foods. There was a bakery closeby, and Yao looked through the glass to see platters of treats lined upwards to face out to seduce passerbys into entering the shop. He held his stomach with his hand that made a low rumble, having not eaten since he had started his traverse into this new land, and quickened his pace.

The sun was poking through the sky quickly, and the air was turning hot. Yao desperately wanted to sit down and drink water, but he couldn’t afford to buy anything even if he had the time.

Then he saw it.

A sign hung outwards from a particularly wide wooden-like building, the red Chinese letters going downwards in a familiar fashion to Yao. He read the letter quickly, and relief washed over him.

_The Golden Coast._

He had made it.

A newfound burst of energy coursed through Yao’s body and he sped up to the front of the building, barging through the front door without a second thought, the bell hanging over the door ringing loudly.

The room he had entered was empty, with it’s wooden tables and chairs scattering around the room. There was a woman who appeared to be behind the short bar across the room, scribbling something quickly on a notepad with her black charcoal pen. She looked up, not expecting someone to enter so suddenly, and Yao felt an overwhelming amount of clashing emotion swell inside him.

The woman almost looked like his mother, and Yao had to blink a few times to make sure he was looking at Chun-Yi and not Chun-Yan. Her black hair was twisted and pulled back into the back of her head to give the allusion she had short hair, and the pink cheongsam, while not made of the finest cloth, still gave her the air of someone who was well off- something his mother, who stayed behind in the village, was not.

“Ayi,” Yao said meekly, stumbling forward and knocking over a chair, and the woman’s thin eyes widened, her round rouge lips gaping, as she exited the bar to walk towards him. The adrenaline in his body had left and exhaustion replaced it, and he felt his legs buckling underneath him.

“Yao? Is that you?” The women exclaimed as Yao fell forward into the women’s outstretched arms.

He felt his vision blur, darkness slowly closing in as he looked up to the face above him. He wanted to speak, but his voice felt stuck in his throat, and he managed to whisper ‘Ayi’ once more. His eyelids drooped unconsciously, and he tried to open them, but to no avail- his body was giving in to the drowsiness that fell over him.

“Yao? Yao! Siu-Keung! Siu-Keung! Come here quickly! Call for Mr. Hsui!”

The voices sounded distant as Yao felt his body being lifted as his conscious left, floating in a never ending darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> • The first stanza is from Zhou Xuan's song 'The Song of Four Seasons'
> 
> •Un Long Town is the old name for modern day Yuen Long Town
> 
> •Ayi is the Cantonese word for aunt (mother's younger sister)
> 
> A/N: Hey all, thank you so much for the support! I was really surprised by the reception I have received from the first chapter, and I'm glad everyone is enjoying it ^_^


	3. 福 Luck - Chapter 3: Home, Sweet Home

**Characters**

  
Siu-Chun Li - Hong Kong

Mei-Lin Li - Taiwan

Siu-Keung Li - OC

Wai-Chau Li- OC

Tsun-Hin Hsui - OC

* * *

 

**Chapter 3 - Home, Sweet Home**

秋季到来荷花香，  
大姑娘夜夜梦家乡。  
醒来不见爹娘面，  
只见窗前明月光。

 _Autumn comes and the lotus flowers are sweet_  
_The maiden dreams of home night after night_  
_When she wakes up she doesn’t see the faces of her mom and dad_  
_Just the moonlight shining at the foot of the bed_

***

When Yao opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a large blank square, brightly lit in white. He squinted slightly, the sudden brightness that he stared at blinding him. After his eyes adjusted slightly, he looked around, confused as to where he was, before familiarity dawned on him as he glanced around the dimly lit room, taking in the lingering scent of roasted and salted sunflower seeds.

 _Why am I here?_ He was in a chair, a lightly padded yet uncomfortable chair, inside a movie theatre that he had visited a few times when he was younger with his parents when they could afford the trip to Guangzhou, along with his distant aunties and uncles in the village.

Yao was alone in the theatre, sitting in the middle row, the equally uncomfortable chairs around him bare and unused. Unsure of why he was in a movie theatre in Guangzhou, nevermind an empty movie theatre, in the first place, Yao was about to stand on his feet yo leave when he suddenly heard the whirring of film being rolled come from the room overseeing the theatre. Moving stark lines were displayed on the blank screen. When he heard the sound of a specific music number and the screen turn grey, he instantly knew what film was playing.

He had the fortune of watching screenings of Zhou Xuan old films in this particular theatre with his parents since he was around 7, and it was the first time he had ever been to a theatre before.

The first time he went, they watched an old Zhou Xuan film, _Three Stars by The Moon_ , a silent film that had her sing her popular song _When Will He Return_ through a speaker in the background. That exact film was currently playing on the screen, cutting right to the scene where she sings the song.

 _“Lovely flowers don't bloom very often_  
_Beautiful scenes aren't always here to stay_  
_Worries dissolve my smiles_  
_Memories of love bring back tears_  
_After you leave tonight_  
_When will you come back again?_  
_After this drink, please have a little side dish_  
_We don't get drunk in life often_  
_Why wait to have a wonderful time?”_

Yao watched with intent as Zhou Xuan sang her infamous song in the film, an accordion accompanying her voice, but for some reason, the film kept replaying the same portion on a loop, the music whirring back to the beginning of the song.

That’s odd, he thought as he got off the chair and onto his feet, the eeriness of the silent and empty theatre causing goosebumps to appear along his bare arms. He could see an exit sign on the bottom corner of the room, and started to make his way there, his steps echoing against the stairs until he opened the heavy door.

A stark contrast to the modern theatre room he was just in, Yao was greeted with a hollow corridor with faded golden posts holding up a tiled roof - a temple’s sky well. Lit paper lanterns, round and red, hung along wooden columns, the orange hues dancing around as the lantern swayed gently, and the smell of burning incense clinged to the air.

Yao took the nearest lantern, drawn to the beauty of the simplistic design and size that he rarely ever sees, wonder dwelling, and he walked down the corridor, glancing between the columns. There were faint traces of grey statues, chipped and decayed from neglect, and from the deepest parts of Yao’s memories, he felt slight nostalgia. He had been to this temple before, long ago- it was the Dafo Temple in Guangzhou, where his father had taken him once during the Mid-Autumn Festival, before they had to celebrate in the secrecy of their home.

Down the hall he went, his steps echoing through the space, until he realized the columns started to fade into darkness. He was unsure where exactly he was, darkness surrounding everywhere he looked, when he saw white light, a spotlight, shine over an object. As Yao approached it, there was gleam that reflected into his face, making him realize that the object was a mirror.

He looked into the mirror, a long and wide mirror that is unlike the one handheld mirror his mother owned and locked inside her wooden dresser along with the items she deemed as too valuable to be left outside. He saw himself as he is now, with his chestnut hair disgustingly shorter than he would have liked it to be, dark circles from fatigue underneath his narrow eyes, and his handmade clothings of a short-sleeve top and wide pants hung over him and his thin body.

Suddenly, he heard an echo of a knock directly behind him, and he turned around only to be greeted by the neverending darkness behind him. He then looked back at the mirror, and was taken aback at the reflection he saw.

Yao knew that it was him in the mirror, but he looked nothing as he did just moments ago. Instead of a Yao with choppy hair and ratty clothes, he saw a Yao with long hair that flowed up down to his waist, and wearing a long red cheongsam, adorned with hand embroidered magnolia flowers and leaves on the bottom corner, lined with yellow on the sleeves and the overlapping parts. He knew right away where he has seen this cheongsam, and a memory returned to his mind.

His mother had a single fancy cheongsam from long ago before she got married that she had kept locked inside her wooden dresser. One day, when Yao believed he was home alone, he tried to put on the cheongsam, wanting to embody the womanliness that came with the dress. It hugged his body nicely, accentuating his waist, and brought out the golden brown of his eyes, and for once Yao found himself to be beautiful. Beautiful...it’s a word you wouldn’t use to describe a boy.

“ _Yao,_ ” A low voice, his father’s voice, echoed behind him suddenly. The familiar panic that he had felt when he first wore the cheongsam surged in Yao’s body, and he felt his legs tense. There was a tinge of anger in his father’s voice, “ _What are you wearing?_ ”

Yao once again turned around, only to again be greeted with nothing. When he looked ahead to the mirror, he found the mirror gone, and much further ahead was a flickering yellow light. Seeing as there was nowhere else to go in the darkness that surrounded him, Yao slowly walked towards the light, feeling anticipation build up inside him.

A rhythmic beat surrounded him, muffled at first, until it became louder and louder with every step Yao took until he could distinctly hear it as the sounds of wooden sticks hitting a drum. A distinct high-pitched sound sung over the beat of the drum, a suona, accompanied by the cry of an erhu whimsically playing. The clink-clink-clink of cymbals can also be heard in the orchestra of music, ritualistic chants sung lowly, and as Yao reached the light, he realised the source was from a lone pit of fire surrounded by exactly nine white tiles.

Through the orange flames that danced in front of Yao, he could see a small, brown round box with a lid curved upwards and the side curved out. Wreaths made of white chrysanthemum and lilies in a teardrop like shape sat underneath the box, the sweet scent mixing in with the incense that remained in the air. His heart started to beat to the sound of the drum as he circled around the fire, careful to avoid touching the white tiles, when the realisation dawned on him as he looked at the box and down to the tiles. 9 white tiles - 9 levels of hell.

The box was a coffin, and Yao could feel his throat tighten as he walked up to it, knowing who it belonged to. The sound of the tiles shattering in the backdrop, one by one, pierced through the music, and Yao felt his breathing become shallow.

“Mama,” Yao whispered weakly as he stood in front of the coffin, the lid slightly open to allow Yao to see the corpse that laid inside. It was his mother, looking as she had always been, with soft skin wrinkled and her black hair with wisps of grey pulled back. He could feel hot tears running down his face as he placed his arms over the ledge of the coffin, hiding his eyes so he could not see her.

“ _Yaoyao,_ ” he heard the voice faintly, almost as if it had been the wind.The nickname was a familiar one, and the voice continued, “ _Is that you, my little one?_ ”

Yao lifted his head, the voice comforting and familiar, and he looked over to his mother, hope in his eyes. But instead of looking at the woman he had seen before, the woman laying in front of him was pale and thin, her cheekbones protruding and her eyes deep set and wide open- just as she had looked like before Yao left.

“ _Yaoyao_ ,” his mother’s voice was now a croak, as Yao felt sick to the stomach as she twisted her head to look at him, lifting a hand, the skin tight around the bone, towards his neck. A streak of blood suddenly spilled over her chapped lips and down her chin, as she crooned, “ _Why did you leave me here to die?_ ”

Yao was suddenly pulled away by the collar of his shirt and fell backwards, only to hit water that had replaced the floor beneath him. He felt the cold waters envelope him as he stared up, a weight pulling him further and further into darkness, bubbles of air leaving his mouth until the fire became a distant rippled light.

* * *

“He’s breathing just fine. Be sure to feed him well once he wakes up, and especially give him soup-based meals so he won’t be dehydrated. I’ll leave some herbs here so you can make him leung cha as well.”

“I’m so sorry for bothering you like this today, Tsun-Hin,” a woman’s voice, muddled and distant, replied in a hushed tone, the soft-spoken timbre familiar to Yao. “Unfortunately I can not pay you right away-”

“It is no problem, Chun-Yi. Your family has always been kind to me, and I owe your husband a great deal for helping me start out my own practice,” a man’s voice said, and Yao attempted to shift his body a bit, back immediately becoming sore and knotted.

A low groan escaped his throat, squeezing his eyes before opening them slightly, the dimness of the room allowing for his pupils to become adjusted immediately, and he took in his surroundings. He was on a bed, in a relatively large room, with a low ceilings with the wooden beams exposed and a simple desk underneath the window that was propped open slightly. A short wooden dresser sat beside him, underneath a tray with two white bowls, one with what seems like a cold beef stew and the other with a plain congee, a thick rice pudding, and a glass filled with water, along with a jug.

Yao tried to sit up, his elbows indenting the hard mattress he was laying on, hissing slightly in pain from the stiffness of his body moving after being still for so long. He glanced over to the door that allowed a sliver of yellow light into the room, the voices coming from behind.

Confusion settled in, but for an odd reason, he didn’t feel the need to bound off the bed and swing the door open to find out where he was. He found the room to be comforting and homely, and there appeared to be no immediate danger. The light sheet, a beige cotton, allowed air to cool Yao’s body, which had been hot and covered in sweat from the dream nightmare that he just experienced.

Yao felt a dull pain in his head, and his eyebrows furrowed as he attempted to recollect where he might be, images swimming around. Is he still in Guangdong? No, definitely not, he remembers swimming across the bay with Dong, as much as he wanted to lock away that moment to not feel the pain he had to experience.

 _Hong Kong._ He was in Hong Kong, he reached Hong Kong and walked through a forest to Un Long Town and seeing his aunt inside a tavern room and...

 _I made it,_ Yao thought, taking in deep breathes, an accumulation of emotions building up, and he could feel tears start to spill down his cheeks.

Those tears were tears of relief for being alive. Tears of pain after experiencing what felt like an eternity of excruciating pain. But most of all, his tears were tears of guilt. Guilt for being relieved to be alive while Dong’s body decays at the bottom of the sea floor, alone. Guilt for leaving his dying mother alone, not knowing if she was dead or alive at this point. Guilt for being safe, and leaving behind his life in China and not being able to go back even if he wanted to.

The door creaked open, and Yao immediately looked up, tears still there.Chun-Yi stood in the doorway, the yellow light entering the room and casting her shadow on the floor. Yao could not see her as well, and she lightly stepped across the wooden floor towards Yao when she noticed he was sitting up on his bed.

“Yao,” she breathed, her voice ever so soft, as she walked up to the chair that stood in front of the drawer, turning on the lamp.

“Ayi,” Yao’s voice cracked as he stared dumbfounding, not knowing what else to say, and Chun-Yi immediately took the glass of water from the tray and pushed it towards him.

“Drink! You must drink!” Chun-Yi said in a much more demanding tone, and Yao did not argue, taking big gulps from the glass until he finished it. The moment he stopped, Chun-Yi placed the tray on his lap, holding up the stew inside, mumbling, “Eat, eat.”, pouring more water from the jug.

Yao accepted the bowl without question, and Chun-Yi quickly stood up to walk towards the doorway. He glanced over beyond the door, into the hallway, where he could see was a man that was definitely not her husband, Yao’s Yijerng, Wai-Chou, with slicked back hair and round glasses resting on the bridge of his long nose. He looked like he was important, a doctor likely- he had a black briefcase in his hands and a long instrument, a stethoscope, around his neck over top his western style clothings of a collar shirt and high waisted pants. The man held on to a pouch of sorts, a small white cotton pouch that Chun-Yi took.

“You have a strong one, Ms. Lieng,” the man said, bowing his head slightly to tip his hat. “I’ll check up on him tomorrow.”

“I’ll get my son to see you out,” Chun-Yi replied as she peered through the door frame. “Lin-Lin! Ah-Chun! Come here!”

“Whaaaat, Ahma?” a muffled reply from a young girl yelled back, and Yao could hear the boards of the hallway creak as quick footsteps walked up to his room.

“Ah-Chun,” Chun-Yi demanded, her voice in control, and Yao could barely see much beyond her body, but the name was familiar. It was what she called her second son, Siu-Chun, a boy who was many years younger than Yao. The last time Yao saw him, he was only an child. “Please show Mr. Hsui out. And Lin-Lin, I want you to make leung cha with these herbs.”

“Why do I have to do it?” The voice, belonging to whom he assumes was Lin-Lin, whined slightly, and Mr. Hsui left, accompanied by a boy with dark brown hair that Yao only saw a sliver of as they walked down the hallway. “I’m tired from studying.”

“Ah, why did I raise such a spoiled little girl,” Chun-Yi tutted. “Biugo is awake and Mr. Hsui wants him to drink these herbs. Now be a good daughter and make a pot of leung cha. And bring two cups as well.”

”Biugo is awake now?” The girl’s voice chimed, and she shifted over slightly, filling the gap left by the doctor.

Yao could make up her profile from where he sat, and he does not remember who she was, thought her name rings a bell- she was young, a child even, with a tiny frame and a short height. Her face was round with big eyes that were angular, like that of a cat’s, and a rounded nose above small pouty lips. For someone who was living in Hong Kong during August, Yao was surprised that the girl didn’t appear to have much colour of a tan on her face, being a light peachy tone, though her arms were a bit more beige. She was wearing a light pink pyjama set, a more western style with a collar short shirt.

She grinned, small and catlike, and she raised her hand, waving. She said in a bubbly voice, “It’s nice to see you awake, Yao Biu!”

“Um, you too?” Yao said, taken aback with how loosely she used his first name, especially since Yao did not know this girl, and she quickly plucked the pouch from Chun-Yi and walked away, leaving Chun-Yi shaking her head after saying something under her breathe.

“Do you remember Mei-Lin?” Chun-Yi asked, noticing how Yao stared at her with bewilder, and Yao shook his head at the name. “Do you remember when we visited you and your Mama, years ago?”

“I was only 12,” Yao nodded, knowing that Chun-Yi and her children did in fact visit Jiuqiu before Chairman Mao’s election into office. He remembered Chun-Yi’s two sons, his cousins- Siu-Keung was the eldest, being 6 years younger than Yao, and Siu-Chun, who was two year Siu-Keung’s junior. He does know that Chun-Yi had another child, who he remembers as a cherubic baby during their visit- a girl child that he affectionately called Muimui, as if she were his own sister.

Upon thinking of the baby, who he would carry on his back and she would babble loudly in his ear, and Yao felt even more confounded with the realisation. “Is that Muimui?”

“Aw, I remember how you used to call her that,” Chun-Yi laughed softly, handing him the bowl of congee with a pair of silver chopsticks, which Yao accepted graciously. He was not a necessarily a fan of congee, finding the pudding to be a bit bland and lacking of flavour (then again, they mostly fed infants this meal), but he hasn’t eaten something of this size for the past few weeks. It would be wise not to eat anything too heavy as well, the pudding being light on his stomach.

“Your Mama would always help you tie Lin-Lin on your back so you could carry her around,” Chun-Yi continued, coming out more as a distant sigh. “And you would play with all of them whenever I couldn’t pay much attention to them. That was a good summer, wasn’t it?”

“It was,” Yao said, the colourful sunny days surfacing as images in his mind.

“How is Gaje?” Chun-Yi asked, the question being one Yao was expecting her to ask sooner or later. Yao took a deep breathe, trying to make sure her voice was steady.

“She’s ill,” Yao replied. “She...is mostly in bed. They say she may not live long.”

A dreadful silence filled the air, and Yao had to take another gulp of water to hold the congee and stew in his stomach.

“And your father? What happened to him?”

“I don’t know. He was arrested in July by the government,” Yao said, his voice low. He could see Chun-Yi's nostrils narrowing, taking in a sharp inhale, and just nodded. Her eyes were watering, turning slightly red, but she held the tears back, and sadly smiled.

"She sent you here for a reason," Chun-Yi said softly, and placed a gentle hand over Yao's, sending a chill down his arm. "I'm happy to see you're alive and well. You don't have to explain anything until you get your strength back. Please, just try to relax and rest."

“Ahma, Mr. Lam says he needs you in the kitchen,” a boy’s voice called from the hallway, and Chun-Yi sighed in annoyance.

“I’ll be back to check you. Do you want more stew?” Chun-Yi asked, getting up quickly and flattened the front of her dress.

“No, thank you.”

“Lin-Lin should be here with the _leung cha_ ,” Chun-Yi replied, ready to leave. “Rest.”

“Yes,” Yao said softly, and he listened as Chun-Yi’s fading footsteps, with the boy’s straying behind.

“Muimui, don’t drop the tray,” Yao heard the same boy mock loudly, as footsteps ran down the corridor, and he could hear Mei-Lin yell.

“Ahma! _Daigo_ is blocking the way!”

After a second of silence, Mei-Lin’s face peered through the door, the catlike smile she left with on her face. She had undone her braid from earlier, letting her dark brown hair flow freely, and Yao felt slightly envious over how healthy it appeared, voluminous with a soft shine.

“Helloo? Can I come in?” Mei-Lin asked, taking steps into the room before Yao could say ‘yes’, holding a small tray with two clay cups faced down and a teapot.

He noticed there was also a plate of a pastries with a yellow filling in the center of the open shell, and his closed mouth started to salivate when he realised that they were egg tarts. He hasn’t had one in a long time.

Mei-Lin continued, with the formal voice of a server, “I brought you some nice _leung cha_ , as you requested. And a few snacks, just in case.”

 _I didn’t request it but…_ “Thank you.”

“Can I drink some with you?” Mei-Lin continued, setting the tray on to the dresser besides Yao. She quickly pulled up the chair and sat down, pouring the contents of the teapot into the cups. “I really don’t want to go back to studying maths- If I’m with you, I have an excuse.”

“By all means, you can stay, thought I don’t think I would be entertaining to you,” Yao replied with a half-hearted laugh, finding his voice that had been stuck since he got here, and accepted the cup Mei poured into.

He took a small sip, the cold tea refreshing his throat, and the bitterness of the infused herb leaving a odd taste in his mouth, yet he keeps drinking. Mei-Lin, on the other hand, took one sip and her face twisted in disgust, and she quickly put the tea away, before taking an egg tart in her hand. Yao waits until she nibbled on the shell to take one for himself.

He admired it for a bit, feeling the crust under his hand and the shine on the smooth and rounded yellow filling, and he took a small nibble of one side.

“Who were you yelling at in the hallway?” Yao asked, not wanting the silence to cause the girl discomfort. He had known her once, playing with her and caring for her, yet time and distance had caused them to become strangers. Yao would like to get to know her once again, and to ensure there wasn’t a drift between himself and his cousins. He would be around them more often from now on.

“Just Daigo. He’s so mean to me,” Mei-Lin sighed, referencing her elder brother, Siu-Keung, her voice still light, and Yao noticed the odd rhythm to how she spoke as she continued. “But you look nice. I honestly didn’t know who you were when I first saw you- I wanted to stay back but Ahma wanted me to go to my tutoring class today. I hate it, there’s still a week left of summer break, but Ahma wants me to do better in math. I’m actually going into Primary 6 soon- I can’t wait to finish this year and go to a secondary school afterwards- their uniforms are so cute! How old are you, by the way? I’m turning 12 soon- in October actually. When is your birthday?”

“I’m born in October as well,” Yao replied, trying to keep up with her questions, not used to hearing someone who was practically a stranger talk as much as Mei-Lin did. “I’ll be turning 22.”

“Wow, you’re old!” Mei-Lin exclaimed. “I thought you were _Daigo_ ’s age!”

“How rude!” Yao responded without thought, amazed at how blunt she was. “You can’t go around calling people old! And 22 is still quite young!”

“Compared to someone like Ahma, maybe,” Mei-Lin quipped, undisturbed with how disrespectful she came across. “But you’re not even in school, so technically, you’re not young. People get married at your age! Are you married, Yao Biu?”

“No,” Yao stretched his response, not sure how to venture through the question. .

“Are you planning to get married here?” Mei-Lin asked, and again Yao shook his head. “Then why did you leave home to come here?”

It never occured to Yao that Mei-Lin may not know exactly why Yao is in Hong Kong and how he managed to get here. He assumed that she had learned about what had happened in the mainland, but likely minimally.

“What did Ayi tell you?” Yao asked with a lighter tone, trying to figure out how he would explain.

“Ahma said you were came here to have a better life than what you had back home,” Mei shrugged. “So I assumed you were going to get married and get a job here.”

“A job yes, but I’m unsure of marriage this soon,” Yao replied. Back home...her use of it was odd, considering that she was born and raised in Hong Kong, but she must be saying it thanks to Chun-Yi and Wai-Chou.

Yijerng was also from the province of Guangdong, a businessman from Guangzhou. The two had relocated to Hong Kong soon after their wedding, with the prospect of being richer here than they would have been if they stayed. Mei-Lin’s parents must have said it offhandedly, not wanting to break their link to where they were from, and it stuck with their children. Or, at least, with Mei-Lin.

“Everyone around me says that the best life would be the married life for girls. That’s why Ahma wants me to do well in school and go to university- so that I would have an easier time getting married to a nice smart boy afterwards!”

 _They start to really talk about this when you’re young,_ Yao thought as he muffled out a laugh, thought it saddened him to hear this from Mei-Lin. She was only 12- technically only in primary school. To him, she had plenty of time to not think of marriage. Yet, the same had happened to Yao, when he was much younger, and especially due to his admiration for Zhou Xuan.

His father would often joke, _“Yao, are you going to marry someone like Zhou Xuan when you’re older?”_ To which Yao would just nod his head, not wanting to admit that he would rather marry Zhao Dan, an actor that played opposite to Zhou Xuan in Street Angel.

“Is that what you want to do?” Yao asked, and Mei-Lin quirked her eyebrows up, confused. “Do you want to get married right after you finish university?”

“No, not really. Actually, I don’t think I ever want to be with a boy. They’re so annoying! Especially this one boy I study with, he keeps leaving love letters in my cubby,” Mei-Lin replied, before her tone a bit hushed, shaking her head. “Oh! Don’t tell Ahma about this boy! She would be so angry if she knows how much he tries to talk to me, she might think that I want to be with him!”

“I won’t tell her, don’t worry,” Yao grinned, finding the gesture of love letters to be sweet. He assumed Mei-Lin was just saying that she found the boy annoying as a way to hide her own feelings, but from the look of annoyance on her face, she truly did find the boy to be a pest. “Did you tell him to stop?”

“Yes! Many times! But even when I do, he still keeps chasing me!” Mei-Lin rolled her eyes, taking another bite from the tart. “And all my friends think because I talk to him that I like him!”

“That is frustrating, isn’t it?”

“Yes! Were you like that when you were my age, Yao-Biu?” Mei-Lin asked, curiosity in her eyes.

“No,” Yao replied. “I would never annoy anyone or send love letters like that. Especially if they told me to stop.”

Which was partly true. He never ensued anybody when he was young. Jun-Min was the one who did it when they met and they knew about each other’s preferences. He did, however, send love letters to his then lover, though he likes to lock that aspect of his life away.

“Don’t tell Ayi, but I did have someone back home, during my secondary school” Yao replied, feeling that this was a way of making a connection with the young girl, and Mei-Lin’s eyes lit up deviously upon hearing this secret. “But she ended up marrying someone else.”

“Why didn’t you marry her first?” Mei asked, eyes with intent, waiting for Yao to answer.

“Her family wanted to marry her off right away,” Yao replied, calmly. “And I was supposed to go to the north to continue university and...I guess her family just wanted her to get marry someone they deem fit.”

“Oh,” Mei-Lin’s tone dropped, her thin eyebrows pulled up, and Yao could see her mood dramatically shift.

“That was a long time though,” Yao replies light heartedly, taking another egg tart. “Way back. It’s nothing but a memory now.”

“Maybe you’ll meet the one you’re meant to be with here,” Mei-Lin replied, her voice full of fascination. “Your soulmate.”

“My soulmate?”

“Yep! Your soulmate connected by the red string,” Mei-Lin explained lifting both hand, separating them. “The one Yue Lao would connect between two people destined together.”

“You believe in that?” Yao asked, familiar with the tale of the red thread. It’s a common folklore that would be told as a child, mostly from word of mouth rather than through a book. Yue Lao, the god of marriage and love, would appear under the moon and attach a red string on all couples who are destined to be together. From what Chun-Yan had told Yao, the tale of the old man under the moon, starts when a man named Wei-Gu encountered Yue Lao in the City of Song reading a book under the moonlight.

The young man asked Yue Lao what he was reading, and the god responded that he was reading the Book of Marriages. He further tells Wei-Gu that in his pack he had, there were red threads that once he would use to attach a man and woman, whom, would become husband and wife. Wei-Gu, curious, asked Yue Lao who his future wife would be, and Yue Lao pointed towards a blind woman nearby, holding a three year old girl, and replied “That little girl will be your future wife”.

Wei-Gu, not believing what he said, ordered his servant to kill the young girl. Years later, Wei-Gu was arranged to marry the beautiful daughter of a high official. On their wedding night, Wei-Gu noticed the scar she had between her eyebrows and after inquiring her, the woman replied that she had been attacked the City of Song when she was three years old, and Wei-Gu realizes that she was the girl that he had ordered to be killed.

Yao wasn’t sure if the moral of the story was also not hurt other people incase they come back into your life, but it was a cute tale, and the idea of having someone in the world that you were meant to marry made him feel slightly more desirable than he had been made to feel growing up.

“Muimui!” A boy’s voice unlike Siu-Keung’s voice called, interrupting their conversation, thought it was a bit low and quieter than how Mei-Lin would yell. “Did you take my egg tarts?”

“Great, Ergo is back,” Mei-Lin grumbled, narrowing her eyes towards the door as footsteps ran down the hallway to their room.

A head of shaggy dark brown hair appeared and Yao instantly knew that it was Siu-Chun who Mei-Lin referees to as Ergo, yet, he was again confounded by the person he saw.

There were some things recognizable about Siu-Chun- namely, his unnaturally thick eyebrows and how his nose was big and long (either of which was not found in their family), thought it’s not to say he was an ugly boy. Quite the contrary- he looked much better than how Yao looked at that age.

“Biugo,” Siu-Chun noted, straightening himself a bit and avoiding his gaze slightly, as if unsure how to go about what he wanted to say. He then looked directly at Mei-Lin, frowning, “Why are you annoying Biugo?”

“I’m not annoying him,” Mei-Lin replied, and Siu-Chun glared at the sole egg tart on the plate, before noticing the tart in Yao’s and. “We were just talking.”

“About what?” Siu-Chun asked, taking long strides towards the egg tart. He looked like he wanted to say something concerning his missing tarts, but held back, maybe due to Yao’s presence.

“Just about things that you wouldn’t be interested in,” Mei-Lin huffed, the presence of her older brother making it hard to talk openly about anything. “I thought you were going to help Ahma out with the customers?”

“Daigo’s already there,” Siu-Chun replies, plucking the tart quickly just as Mei-Lin was reaching for it. “I’ll just get in the way. So I thought that I’d check on Biugo.”

“You’re just lazy!” Mei-Lin exclaimed, and Siu-Chun idly walked to the end of the bed.

“Biugo, may I sit here?” Siu-Chun ignored his sister’s comment, and Yao gestured for him to sit down.

“Ughhh are you going to stay here?” Mei-Lin snapped and Siu-Chun smirked.

“Why? Are you two talking about something that would get you in trouble?”

“Yao Biu, does he really have to stay here?”

“He doesn’t have to, but he can if he wants to,” Yao finally spoke up in their sibling fight, and Mei-Lin groaned loudly.

“I want to stay and talk,” Siu-Chun replied, shifting to make himself comfortably. “I haven’t seen him since I was five.”

“Do you remember me?” Yao asked, and Siu-Chun nodded, his bangs bobbing slightly.

“Somewhat. I only remember a bit from our time at Jinqiu, but I do remember you. Mei-Lin, on the other hand, didn’t even know who you are,” Siu-Chun scoffed slightly, before Mei-Lin feverently denied this (despite admitting it early on) and Yao silently watched, trying to hide his amusement at their bantering. He had always wanted a sibling, but his mother was quite old when she had him, so the chances of another child in the family was incredibly slim from the get go.

Listening as Mei-Lin talked back and Siu-Chun replying with snarky comments made him feel warm inside, and their inclusion of him in their conversation only deepened the warmth that was filling what he thought was his empty heart.

He had lost everything. He could never return to his village, to his small house with a thatched roof, to his mother and father. Home was across a body of ocean that he will never see again.

But at that moment, with Mei-Lin and Siu-Chun, and later when Chun-Yi and Siu-Keung came up to check on him, he felt like he was in the safety that he had thought he would never feel again.

This will be his home from now on.

* * *

 

 **TERMS:**  
*I looked through a lot of sources to figure out some of these terms in Cantonese, so if you think it should be a different word, then please comment, it would help me greatly Q-Q

Ahma - another way of saying Mom  
Yijerng - maternal younger sister’s husband (uncle)  
Gaje - Elder sister  
Biugo - maternal older male cousin. Sometimes if you’re referring to someone in your family, you might use their name and then part of the word (thus Yao Biu), but it’s considered disrespectful for younger people to refer to their elders this way.  
Muimui- younger sister  
Daigo - older brother  
Ergo - older brother. ‘Er’ means two, and since Siu-Chun is the second eldest, I think that Mei-Lin would call him that

Ah-Chun - The prefix ‘Ah’ is used before the second given name as a nickname, and is one that parents would usually use for their children  
Lin-Lin - Again, another way of making a nickname by repeating the second given name

**NOTES:**

  * A few words on the funeral-  
When researching about burial rituals in China, I found that the second most popular ritual in the Cantonese parts (including Hong Kong) is the Taoism ritual, which is also likely common in village parts. I’ll try to explain the symbolism, but really this article that I used covers Taoist funeral proceedings extremely well :http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2102955/hong-kongs-taoist-funerals-superstition-symbolism-and-how-stop-your-soul  
  
The casket Yao’s mother was found in is a traditional Chinese casket (thought now Western caskets are more common, I’m sure the tradition has stuck back then). The wreaths were made of white flowers specifically, because in Chinese culture, white is the colour used for mourning (and those are the common symbolic flowers). The ritual with the 9 tiles (which is the symbol of the 9 levels of hell) breaking is supposed to represent the opening of the gates of hell to free the soul, and is done by a priest who would use a sword made of peach wood. The music that is heard with the instruments (like the erhu) are specific to Taoistic rituals to accompany another priest who would be chanting scriptures in the background.
  * Mid-Autumn Festival-  
This is a harvest festival that usually happens during the fall (on the 15th day of the 8th month with a full moon, following the lunar calendar), with roots of worshiping the moon, thanksgiving, and family gathering 
  * Leung cha  
This is the herbal medical tea that originated in Guangdong, and it's apart of Cantonese culture. It is usually served cold (due to the region being quite hot compared to the rest of China and the herbs being used to cool the body anyways), and it is still popular in places like Hong Kong, where there are plenty of family-run stores selling these specific herbs.




	4. 福 Luck - 4. Life in Un Long: Longevity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, been a while- first off, thank you guys so much for following, reading, and commenting about the story so far. I will be adding notes at the end, I just want to put this chapter out, buuut there is a lot of things I included, and I actually think that this part of Yao's story may be longer (I know I want to get to the RoChu too T-T but I really want to establish the relationship between Yao and the family first).
> 
> Anyways, I hope this chapter didnt come across as info dumpy, but if it did, please let me know so I can improve this and the next chapter! Again, thank you for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoy <3

**Chapter 4 - Life in Un Long: Longevity**

灵鹊是活跃的绿衣使    
明月是莹澈的菱花镜  
我们管领着这一片青冥    
享受着永远的承平  
说什么天长地久有时尽    
说什么碧海青天夜夜心

  
_The alert magpie is actively making green clothes_  
_The bright moon is lustrous clear like the water chestnut flower pond_  
_The path leads us to the green offering time of Qing Ming_  
_Forever enjoying due to its peacefulness_  
_Say when, in the eternity, is it time to end_  
_Say which blue sea and which green day melody_

*******

**September 1957**

It took almost two weeks, but Yao had managed to ride out the fever that befell him immediately after arriving to Hong Kong. During that time, Chun-Yi had insisted that Yao remain in his room, even during the last few days when he felt better and he wanted to aid her with housework.

Yao was incredibly underweight and malnourished- courtesy to the bad harvest that occured in their village and lack of access to the marketplace in Guangdong, along with the past week of travelling with little to no food. Though, he didn’t realise how bad he looked until he went to the bathroom in their apartment, when he looked at the mirror hanging above the marble sink and realised that his ribs were showing through his translucent skin, his stomach almost caving in. Chun-Yi fed him well, and much more than Yao thought he really needed, but she wouldn’t stop filling his plates and bowls.

Once Yao’s fever had subdued, and he was allowed to finally walk around freely without Chun-Yi hovering over him every few hours, Yao went about looking outside the window and walking around the flat.

He found the layout of their place- actually, the entire town of Un Long- to be interesting and awestrickening. Yao has never lived in an tong lau before, only ever seeing the tall building when he went on a trip to the city with his parents. The stores would line up the bottom part of the building, separate from the livable apartments above.

The interior makeup was interesting as well, particularly their kitchen and bathroom- in the village, he would usually bathe outside in a designated area, using water from the well and a bucket, while fully or partially clothed. The Leis had a bathroom, where there was a low, long basin along the wall, the bathtub, beside a Western-style toilet. There was a showerhead that hung above the bathtub, and with a quick turn of a knob, water would come pouring out, Yao knowing that it connected to the lake nearby through pipes.

It was interesting how much different life in Un Long was compared to Jinqiu - the lifestyle was definitely more cozy and faster than the slow pace back home. It was louder, and brighter, with store lights always flashing late into the night when Yao would lay in bed, the sound of people chattering and footsteps thudding on the pavement being constant where eventually Yao managed to learn how to fall asleep with the noise.

Days passed, and soon, August came to an end, September beginning with a week worth of rain showers and chills. School had begun for all under the age of 18, and thus, all of Chun-Yi’s children would be away from home for most days, leaving Yao to entertain himself alone.

When Yao had enough strength to stand for long hours without feeling dizzy, he wanted to work for Chun-Yi as a way to repay her for taking care of him, but she insisted to wait a bit longer until they were sure he was in good health. Eventually, after days of lounging around, listening to the radio, and reading the _manhua_ , a story made up of multiple drawings in square panels, that Mei-Lin let him borrow, Yao took IT upon himself to do most, if not, all of the housework around the apartment when Chun-Yi couldn’t. From sweeping and mopping the floors, to cooking food in the kitchen that they barely used, to running down the launderettes with the laundry that Chun-Yi would leave off to do after she finished work, Yao did anything to keep him occupied and be useful.

“ _Yao, you know you don’t have to do any of this!_ ” Chun-Yi had exclaimed when she found Yao sitting on the couch in their living room, casually folding the clothes into separate piles.

“ _I’m fine with doing this Ayi,_ ” Yao replied, continuing to fold while looking at her, the pattern quickly becoming second nature to him.

“ _It’s like you’re my niece instead of my nephew,_ ” Chun-Yi commented with a huff, both hands on her hips. “ _You could at least get Lin-Lin to help you with it!_ ”

“ _She does, don’t worry!_ ” Yao had waved off her comment with a smile, continuing to fold the fabrics in his hand, not paying much attention to what he was folding as he listened to the songs playing in the background.

During that time of recovery, the mysterious man he had seen before, Mr. Hsui, continued to visit Yao regularly, to ensure that he was healthy and progressing well. Yao soon found out from Siu-Chun that Mr. Hsui was indeed a doctor as Yao had suspected, a licensed physician no less, who had gone to study at the University of Hong Kong and is now one of the main doctors in the town, particularly their area. Further inspection led to Yao finding out that the Leis have always known Mr. Hsui’s family, who were only down the road from their tong lau. His family owned a traditional herbal store that stood between a few other shops, unlike underneath the apartments as Chun-Yi did, and Chun-Yi and Wei-Chou knew Mr. Hsui since they moved to Hong Kong, when he was finishing his residency in the hospital in their town. They had quite a close relationship, with Wei-Chau helping Mr. Hsui’s family during a period of time where they weren’t able to keep up with their debt repayment, particularly while Mr. Hsui was still in his residency and attempting to help his parents out.

He was a quiet man, his face being expressionless most of the time besides a small smile here and there. Mr. Hsui knew that Yao was Chun-Yi’s nephew from the People’s Republic- he asked him some questions about him, basic questions to make him comfortable around him. However, to Yao’s surprise, he never asked Yao how had managed to get in to Hong Kong despite the rigid borders or why he had decided to leave to begin with. Even the story Chun-Yi told Mei-Lin was sparse to ensure her daughter wouldn’t accidentally expose Yao’s position, before repeatedly telling her that if any of her friends from school and the tong lau asked her about him, she had to tell them he was a distant cousin from the countryside. Mr. Hsui didn’t say more than needed, and instead went about checking Yao as he usually does, quietly, with a few words here and there.

Yao noticed, however, that there was something about Chun-Yi and Mr. Hsui’s relationship that seemed deeper than just being Wai-Chau’s wife and friend. Mr. Hsui would casually stop by at times in the evening, not there to check on Yao like the young man thought he was. Chun-Yi would pour him a cup of tea on the dining table, laughing and chatting with him as he listened, nodding along.

This display of casualness between a man and a woman such as this felt off to Yao. The thought of adults of the opposite sex being as friendly as they were was incredibly odd, to Yao at least. Despite the idea of women being a man’s equal being instilled by the government, it was still a social taboo. His mother would talk to her male friends when his father was not home, but usually only in the company of her female friends l- never alone like Chun-Yi did. And although technically they weren't alone thanks to her children being around the home along with Yao, what man would visit a married woman alone while her husband was away?

Still, Yao had to admit, seeing Chun-Yi smile the way she did with Mr. Hsui was better than her being stressed from work alone. He knew she was struggling to keep up with everyone. She had a lot on her plate as it is, with all three of her children attending school, and running the tavern on the bottom floor of the tong lau they were in. After talking with Chun-Yi, he found out that Wai-Chau had actually managed to emigrate to Canada, to the city of Toronto, and has been there for the past two years. How he managed to get a visa into the country, however, was something she did not mention.

The process to get into the Americas, particular the United States and Canada was hard, and much harder than the Carribeans. Yao knew of someone in his village who had talked about wanting to leave Jinqiu to go to Canada, but it was difficult, with the requirements being out of his reach - they only opened the doors to diplomats and students, neither of which the man was. He ended up emigrating to Jamaica, an alternative for someone without an education, as a _kuli_ \- a word his father used that he said was basically 'an indentured slave'. This was back when Yao was still a child, though - he knew that the whole exclusive requirement was repealed, and talks of people considering to attempt to emigrate became more prominent in recent years.

Yao had heard that now they only allowed families and dependants of the Chinese that lived there under a Canadian citizenship - which leads to some escaping China to Hong Kong, buying fake papers claiming they were married to a man that lived in Canada, or even pretending to being their son or daughter. Perhaps, that was the case with Wai-Chau

Yao didn’t press on, though- his aunt was sheltering him, despite not needing to, and she accepted him into the family with open arms. If there’s a reason for her being sparse about Wai-Chau’s immigration, then it would be for the best - if the authorities were to find out there, it would only cause him to get deported back, and be subjected to jail time here.

Deportation back to China, however, was something that Yao was very much concerned about. He has heard the tales of the men who were attempting to escape the very same way he did, being caught by the Hong Kong border control and being handed back to mainland officials. They were horrific stories of men being sent around camps, being tortured and paraded around for the public to see, before officials would send them off to some factory to work with others that have betrayed their home for the remainder of their sentence.

One evening, when Yao woke from an evening after having taken some leung cha with the herbs Mr. Hsui had recommended to soothe any aches in his body, Chun-Yi and Mr. Hsui were both sitting on the deep red coloured couch on opposite sides, looking as if they were waiting for him. A platter of freshly boiled tea in the white teapot they used along with cups sat on the low table in front of them, a matching cushioned chair on the side facing as to look at both of them.

“Yao, please sit down,” Chun-Yi gestured towards the empty chair, before pouring the contents of the teapot into an empty cup. “We have to talk to you about your situation.”

Yao accepted the tea cup, feeling his throat suddenly tighten, his blood running cold at her words, snippets of his journey on feet through the mountainous trails and through the ocean flashing in his mind. He then took a deep breathe, trying hard not to let the overwhelming feeling of anxiety take over, and he sat on the chair, making sure his back was straight to show he was ready for the conversation they were going to have.

It’s the ‘What are we going to do about you’ talk that Chun-Yi had avoided bringing up while he was healing in bed. The furthest she got from Yao’s situation was about his mother and father, whose photo she had and gave to him to set up a small altar in the living room to honour them (Yao was not able to bring the only family photo they had with him for fear of it being destroyed).

Yao glanced over quickly to the altar- the black and white photo was that of his parents on their wedding day, with his mother wearing a Qun Kua, a two piece dress that hung loosely around the body with a veil pulled back on her head, and his father wearing a black suit. Their photo, though small, was framed in black wood and sat on top of a short dresser, behind a piece of wood that held up the incense that had burned out and a plate of mandarins stacked on top of each other.

Taking another deep breath, he turned to look at both Chun-Yi and Mr. Hsui, sipping on the tea. He was unsure why Mr. Hsui was there exactly, though it would be better to have someone else besides his Ayi to help him figure out a way to settle down in Hong Kong without getting in trouble. Chun-Yi appeared to want to say something, but before she could, Mr. Hsui spoke.

“Ms. Lieng has told me about how you had crossed the border through _Hau Hoi Wan_ ,” he started when he caught Yao’s glance, his voice deep and low, suiting his straight face. Yao’s eyebrows immediately pulled in, waiting for the man to continue. “And that you’re here illegally.”

 _I’m sure you already knew that_ , Yao thought, taking another quiet sip, patient. The pause in between was filled with the ticking of the wooden clock that hung on the wall opposite to the couch, the thin second hand ticking around the circle with black dashes.

“There are many people just like you who have escaped the mainland to come here since the election,” Mr. Hsui continued, Yao knowing he was referring to the ‘49 election. “Many who attempt to escape do not survive the trip. Those who do, well…some get caught at the border and are forced to turn back. You’re one of the few who crossed without getting caught.”

Yao assumed that Mr. Hsui was trying to make Yao less cautious around them about the subject, but the sturdiness of his voice and the expression his face, blank and emotionless, ruined what the doctor was aiming to be - warm and welcoming.

“I understand that you may be worried about what would happened if the authorities were to find out that you’re now living in Hong Kong,” Mr. Hsui continued. “And that may be the case elsewhere. I’m unsure if you had heard of this from the mainland, but the government has been lenient when it comes to illegal refugees going to the authority. You might not be able to receive amnesty or official refugee due to the current political conflict between Hong Kong and the People’s Republic, but it might allow you to start an independent life.”

Yao was unsure of what this political conflict could be precisely, though he has heard from the drone of the radio of an ongoing issue in regards to Chinese refugees in Hong Kong that has been taken all the way to the United Nations - it was a global organization that was created at the end of the Sino-Japanese War, and from what Yao knew as a form of cooperation between the nations of the world. Or, really, a way for the Western countries to maintain power, with their exclusion of the People’s Republic as a member, only recognizing the so called “Republic of China” as the only China. The issue of the refugees was based on whether the United Nations Human Rights Council should extend their aid to Chinese refugees, and apparently, from what the news anchor recounted, as been an issue since the influx of refugees Hong Kong has received in recent years.

Although, the news anchor did mention that there was an issue on the recognition of whether the People’s Republic of China or Taiwan were truly China, with many nations picking sides and recognizing one or the other, with Hong Kong being stuck in the middle due to the British recognising PCR as China. That issue of recognition might be the reason as to why refugee status would not be handed to Yao so easily - if he were to be considered a refugee under Hong Kong, that would go against Hong Kong’s alignment with China.

“I disagree with going to the authorities at all,” Chun-Yi finally spoke from her spot, hands folded on top of each other on a knee that was probed up. Worry was etched in her face, and she glanced between the two men. “I understand that it might allow Yao to live comfortably without fear, but who knows what they might do to him- they may say they won’t return the refugees back, but there’s still the likelihood they would. Or even worse- they might make him relocate to Taiwan, and you know how the government there might not be so kind to Yao.”

“Considering that there would be more organizations that are starting to aid Chinese refugees, you should take advantage of it,” Mr. Hsui continued passively, though it sounded like he was mostly talking to Chun-Yi. “And they haven’t sent any of the refugees that remained back to the mainland- I doubt they would force him to go anywhere, considering that you live here as well.”

“I still do not like it,” Chun-Yi spoke back quickly. “There are plenty of refugees who continue to live here without telling anyone. And they manage to find jobs as well.”

“They all don’t have access to many things and the jobs they do find are factory work,” Mr. Hsui replied, and for the first time, he saw his lips turn upwards into a slight frown. There was something about his frown that reminded Yao very much of how Siu-Chun frowns.

“First off, I won’t allow any nephew of mine to work in a factory. If anything, Yao may work at the tavern with me as a server,” Chun-Yi scoffed. “His mother entrusted him with me- that’s the only reason why she sent him off here. She want him to be under my care.”

“He’s still a young man, Ms. Lieng, who would want to eventually not be dependant on his aunt. How do you expect him to continue on with his life if he were to work for measly wages here?”

“Who’s to say he’ll be receiving measly wages? I will be sure to pay him properly!”

Yao cleared his throat, wanting the two to stop their argument (if you could call it an argument- Mr. Hsui barely raised his voice while Chun-Yi grew louder and louder).

They both, indeed, stopped their quarrel, looking at him as if they just remembered that Yao was sitting right in front of them, waiting, before Mr. Hsui commented steadily, “Let the boy decide what he wants to do, Ms. Lieng. I just wanted to let him know his options-”

“That was one of his options. The other is that he doesn’t go to the authority, and I’ll figure out what he could do for work. While he lives with me,” Chun-Yi emphasised the last part, and it was clear to Yao that his Ayi had no intentions of letting him be in a position of being relocated away from her and her family. And Yao wasn’t sure if he was ready to be put in that position, either.

“I think I want to wait a bit longer, before deciding what to do,” Yao replied, his voice a bit hushed, but came clear and through. “Truthfully, the only thing I was worried about was whether discovery from authorities would send me back to the mainland. But even knowing that that would not be the case...I’m still a bit apprehensive of revealing my status so soon.”

“Not necessarily a problem at the moment,” Mr. Hsui replied after a pause. There was something about his tone that made it seem he like he was holding a certain detail out. He glanced over at Ayi, as if seeking permission to say, but Chun-Yi did not look his way, instead choosing a spot on the table to stare at. He then proceeded slowly, and Yao noted how solemn his voice had become, “You do know about Mr. Lei living in Canada, correct?”

“Yes, Ayi has already told me that he’s currently living there,” Yao replied evenly, feeling slightly uneasy with the lack of assurance from Chun-Yi as she remained silent.

“Yes, well...well...There are plans for Ms. Lieng and her children to immigrate their eventually, when Mr. Lei is able to send enough money for their visas,” Mr. Hsui continued.

“Oh,” was all that escaped Yao, dumbfounded when the realisation dawned on him.

Eventually Chun-Yi and his cousins would leave to be with Wai-Chau. It would be the path that made the most sense for them to take- why else would Wai-Chau remain in Toronto for so long, if he weren’t going to bring his family along with him?

“They won’t be able to bring you, regardless of whether they could or not.”

“Yes, I know,” Yao interjected, not wanting to hear Mr. Hsu go on a tangent. “Only immediate families are allowed to enter.”

“Yes,” Mr. Hsui responded slowly. “And that means you’ll be in Hong Kong alone. I understand you still lived with your parents in Guangdong, but you may not be able to be dependant on Ms. Lieng sooner or later. You’ll have to make ends meet, and it is much harder to maintain a place, even a decent one-bedroom, with a factory job.”

“I’ve always been aware that eventually I would not be dependant in Ayi while I live here,” Yao replied after reflecting a bit on the issue. On one hand, it would be a better option in the long run to seek governmental help- he could eventually claim asylum as well, if the time ever came. If he were to settle on his own, it would be important to be in good standing and be able to receive the help he needs.

However, as Chun-Yi said, Yao didn’t like how unreliable going to authorities could be. They might suddenly decide to return most of the refugees back to China- his stomach turned at the thought of having to end up like his father at a labour camp.

“And I understand that there are likely benefits if I admitted my status,” Yao continued. “But I still feel like I need some more time to be adjusted while living here. I don’t want to find myself in a situation where I would be at a disadvantage if the government decides to change some laws.”

“Besides,” Chun-Yi started. “If we ever have to leave, Yao could always take over the tavern and the apartment. Both are almost paid off. I’ll teach him how to manage and control finances for the remainder of the time that we are in Un Long.”

“We would like to avoid resorting to forging documents for Yao,” Mr. Hsui replied, an eyebrow raised. “And if that were the case, then he should get an official status document.”

Yao remained silent, not knowing what else he could say at the moment, but Mr. Hsui sighed, “Stubbornness runs in the family, apparently.”

“This is coming from the most stubborn man in Un Long,” Chun-Yi replied, a smug smirk growing on her face, happy she won this issue.

“If you can’t afford another server, Ms. Lieng, then my office is always open for another receptionist,” Mr. Hsui replied, and Chun-Yi laughed at his comment.

“With his beautiful face, if you dress him up right, you’ll have a lot more male clients.”

To this, Yao couldn’t help but smile bashfully, looking down so they couldn’t see his expression. Mr. Hsui just shook his head, and surprisingly did not seem to be distraught by Chun-Yi’s reply, taking it lightly.

“Do as you wish, Yao,” he continued, getting up from the couch, appearing as if he were ready to leave. “You’re a grown man, and I’m sure you made the right decision for yourself. I will continue to check up on you. You are drinking the herbs I bring for you, yes?”

“Yes, they’ve helped a lot with my fatigue,” Yao nodded, and Mr. Hsui hummed in agreement.

“Good, good. I’ll see you soon then. Ms. Lieng, thank you for the tea,” Mr. Hsui replied, and Chun-Yi followed suite.

“I’ll see you out. I have to Make sure Mr. Li is alright as well,” Chun-Yi immediately got up, before looking over to Yao. “Yao, can you check on Lin-Lin and make sure she isn’t procrastinating on her homework for me? She’s been there for over two hours and I’m sure she hasn’t been doing any of her work.”

“Sure, Ayi,” Yao replied, finding the dismissal to be sudden, but he didn’t ask any further of it. He got up, and walked down the hallway.

He stole a glance over towards the front door where Chun-Yi and Mr. Hsui were walking towards. He knocked on Mei-Lin’s door, before entering, catching the slight knowing smile on Mr. Hsui’s face towards his Ayi.

* * *

As Yao continued living with the Leis, it became apparent as to why Chun-Yi was able to spend most of her days working at  _The Golden Coast_ without worrying about her children as Yao did. Yao notice how all her kids, even little Mei-Lin, were incredibly independent- they all followed a structural life where they did not depend on Chun-Yi for much, other than for food and shelter. Yao is in his 20s, but even he knew that he was still dependent on his parents for many things before - the many house chores always landed on his mother, and he would help his father at times but Lei carried the bulk of the work, with Yao falling behind.

Yao had figured the patterns the Lei children followed, and was able to allocate the times they were not in the house in order to finish chores and walk them (or, at least the younger two) to and from places, something that his Ayi appreciated greatly. Siu-Keung was in his last year of secondary school, and would usually come home right after school to work at the tavern with his mother, except for Tuesdays and Thursdays to play in his school's football team. Both Mei-Lin and Siu-Chun had tutoring session for maths every Wednesdays in the evening, with Mei-Lin having piano lessons every Saturday morning. Siu-Chun took his martial arts classes every Saturday for half the day, along with Sunday and Thursday evenings.

Yao attempted to take an active role with being involved with his cousins, even going as far as to helping Mei-Lin and Siu-Chun with maths, although, there was a difficulties when it came to the need of constant translation- most of the children in Hong Kong, including his cousins, attended an English Medium School, a language that Yao did not know a lick of besides the basic ‘Hello’ and ‘Bye’.

English was not at all taught in his school in Guangdong, and albeit it did hold a sort of prestige for being a foreign language, it was not to the level of importance as Russian, which was what Yao chose to study when given the opportunity in secondary school. The two cousins attended a public school in Un Long, and although they did use Cantonese in some lessons, most of their instructional learning was through English.

They both had started to teach Yao some words and sentences, as a distraction from their real work, though Yao somehow managed to grasp it well. Thought at first it was tedious, with the alphabets and the new sounds being introduced to his memory, Yao managed, and started to try his hand at old workbooks Siu-Chun had kept from his primary years.

So far, reading was easier than talking, and he hoped he never had to use English with anyone other than Mei-Lin who gave him bite size questions as help him get the hang of pronunciation.

" _Hello, Cousin Y_ _ao. How was your day today?_ " Mei-Lin would start to ask in English every time she comes home from school or when Yao would meet her at the gate of her school.

" _No English_ ," Yao would simply reply back, being another useful sentence he learned, but would eventual give in when Mei-Lin would continue in English. _"I am good. How are you?"_

Another barrier for helping with their schoolwork came in the form of how they wrote, using the traditional. The first time Yao had seen Siu-Chun's Cantonese letters, the way they seemed to have more complex strokes compared to the ones he learned. They were familiar, yet foreign at the same time.

" _What is this?_ " Yao asked, as he stared at the black strokes on the paper in front of him. It came across as 雲. He felt as if he should know what it meant- he remembers reading it somewhere.

" _'Cloud'_ ," Siu-Chun read, before giving a confused look to his elder. " _Why do you ask Biugo?_ "

云 is how Yao would have written it, clean and concise, and the realization that having been taught with the simplified form of the Chinese characters had made him forgotten the traditional stroke patterns. Siu-Chun took it in strides when Yao explained how they stopped using traditional writing while he went to school, and was more than willing to read a character if Yao didn't comprehend the lines.

Needless to say Yao got along well with his younger cousins, and became close with them. His relationship with the eldest one, on the other hand, was much to be desired.

Siu-Keung wasn’t home much, or in one place really - he was always out and about, not giving Yao the time of day. They do talk here and there, particularly during dinner, yet, Siu-Keung seemed to always be in a daze, as if his thoughts were elsewhere while his siblings bickered at the table. One evening , over dinner, when Siu-Keung had come home later than usual, and Chun-Yi had retired to her bedroom down the hall, Mei-Lin told Yao that he was seeing someone.

“ _Muimui, you know it’s not good to talk about such lies,_ ” Siu-Chun hushed his sister’s voice, but she continued to indulge Yao with this juicy secret.

“ _I’m not lying! I saw Daigo walking with a girl on the other side of the river, with her friends!_ ” Mei-Lin waved off her brother’s words, finding that her elder brother’s pursuit being amusing and lighthearted, not understanding how their mother would take it if she were to find out her eldest son was courting someone she did not know. “ _It’s the same one I saw him talk to at the school- you can’t even deny that he’s at least interested in someone!_ ”

“ _Muimui, I know you find this fun and all, but you must not speak about this to anyone,_ ” Yao warned her in a soft tone, taking another scoop of rice from the rice cooker, a device that Yao was simply fond of since discovering it in their cupboard. “ _If your mother finds out about this, your Daigo would get in trouble._ ”

“ _Of course I would never tell Ahma. I know better,_ ” Mei-Lin scoffed, using her chopsticks to scoop up the remaining beef from her bowl into her mouth.

“ _Yes, but you can’t go around telling anyone as well. They may look down on Ayi, and that would make it harder for Daigo to get married,_ ” Yao explained, and Mei-Lin did not mention his brother and his lover again afterwards, though, Siu-Keung’s behaviour now made sense to Yao. Afterall, he had gone through that phase, once, and he couldn't blame the boy for daydreaming.

September flew by quickly - the days were still warm and humid, but the rain and typhoons soon became less frequent, and at times there would be a chill that would force Yao to wear a thin sweater. Soon, they were reaching the end of the month, when the Mid-Autumn Festival would usually occur.

The festival was one that Yao had enjoyed in his youth, with the colorful lanterns hanging along posts and families gathering around a table that would be set outside to enjoy the sight of the moon, it’s white light casting on to them as children played and adults talked while snacking on mooncakes. Deeper into the night, an offering table would be out in the courtyard, facing towards the direction of the moon incense burning and a plate of mooncakes and fruits would be placed as offering to the moon goddess, Chang’e.

The tale of Chang’e was a common one, one that would often be retold by the adults to the children. Long, long time ago, there was ten suns that raised up in the sky, causing the crops to wilt and the oceans to dissipate. One day, Hou Yi, a gifted archer, shot down nine of the ten suns, leaving what we now have as the single sun in our sky. In order to thank him for his heroic act, the Western Queen Mother granted him an elixir of immortality, that Hou Yi refused to take an hid. One day, one of his students, Peng Meng, attempted to steal the elixir while Hou Yi was away from the house, confronting his wife, Chang’e. Chang’e, seeing no way of keeping the elixir away from Peng Meng, drank the elixir, making her immortal and she flew to the moon.

Hou Yi, saddened and heartbroken with his wife’s disappearance, left a table out at night with food, hoping she would return home to him. Thus, every Mid-Autumn Festival, they were encouraged to leave offerings during the night for Chang’e.

At times a few people from the village would go to the temple in near the bigger cities, receiving blessings from the gods on this prosperous night. Yao had been to a temple once, with his father, who, although has always held himself as being atheist, still participated in the celebrations, likely for his mother’s sake.

This Mid-Autumn Festival will be the first one where he celebrated without his parents and with his cousins instead. It will also be the first festival he has ever seen in Hong Kong. In order to celebrate this first time, he decided he would attempt to make a traditional dinner by himself, without the aid of Chun-Yi. The festival fell on a weekday, allowing Mei-Lin and Siu-Chun to stay home.

 _The Golden Coast_ remained open throughout the day, and would close in the early evening to allow the workers to return home to their families to celebrate the day, and thus the three cousins were left alone in the apartment to start preparing the meal.

The sun was setting, painting the sky pink and purple, and Yao could see the translucent outline of the full moon rising from the kitchen window that faced out into the street. Their section of the town had the streets closed off from cars and rickshaws, allowing pedestrians to enjoy the many restaurants and entertainment on the street that night.

The usual loud chatter from road could be heard, with the sound of jingling of bells and tangu drums thudding in the backdrop. Yao continued to glance out to the scene before him - the bright red and white restaurant signs lit up the streets, urging families to enter.

“What are we going to do about the mooncakes?” Siu-Chun asked nonchalantly as he continued to slice the skin of the apple in his hand, taking his sweet time as the skin slowly curled.

The menu for the night was grander than anything they usually would eat, including roasted duck glazed in plum sauce, fried sliced seasonal taro and pumpkins, along with freshly bought fruits that Siu-Chun was putting together to look ‘appealing’ on the plates.

Yao was responsible for the duck, not trusting the two siblings despite this being the first time he had attempted to make the dish, while Mei-Lin sliced the taro and pumpkin for frying (after much arguing with Siu-Chun who antagonized her cutting skills). Siu-Chun had assumed a manager role of watching the two work, making comments here and there as he worked on the fruits.

“We don’t have the pan to make mooncakes,” Yao groaned to himself, glancing over to the boy. “How could I forget the mooncakes?”

“Yao-Biu, how can you forget the most important part of the festival!” Mei-Lin exclaimed. Mooncakes were indeed one of the most important part of the Mid-Autumn Festival- a square pastry the size of a palm with chewy, brown crust encasing sweet paste filling with and a variety of other ingredients. Yao’s personal favourite were the ones with egg yolk.

Mooncakes were a rare delicacy, not one you would eat besides on the night of the festival. Yao’s mother would make it in a iron pan with the other women in the village, enough for all of them to eat while they were together. The pans were used specifically for mooncakes- they had designs engraved, detailed and curvy, with the characters for ‘longevity’ engraved in the center and surrounded by loopy designs of vines and flowers.

“I’m sure we can buy them,” Yao sighed, thought he was disappointed that he couldn’t make them by hand. “Are there any bakery stores open at this time?”

“ _Sweet Treats_ should be open,” Siu-Chun replied. “But if we want to get there, we should hurry. I think the performances are going to start and they might close before then.”

“Right, your school is going to be doing the lion dance!” Mei-Lin quickly exclaimed in excitement, as Yao went to the low table in the living room to retrieve the money Ayi had left for them. “Why didn't you choose to do it? It’s so much more interesting than all your boring routines that you always practice.”

“Hung Ga is one of, if not, the most tradition form of kung fu,” Siu-Chun started, seemingly offended by Mei-Lin's comment. “It dates back from centuries ago is one of the most revered and honourable forms of martial arts. There’s a reason why there are so many films about Wong Fei Hung-”

“Yes, yes, we know, Wong Fei Hung, the _mystical hero_ , was a master of this art form,” Mei groaned, the sarcasm dripping from her words as if she had heard Siu-Chun say it a thousand times.

“He wasn’t _mystical_ , he was a _real_ historical figure that was important to the formation of Hung Ga as we know it!” For once, Yao was able to hear Siu-Chun’s voice crack slightly, reminder of the boy still being a young adolescent and that Siu-Chun could get riled up if you were to hit the right buttons.

Siu-Chun tended to be quiet and more calm compared to his two siblings- rarely has Yao ever seen him raise his voice beyond necessary. Of course, Mei-Lin knew exactly how to break Siu-Chun beyond that. Though, Yao didn’t really understand who Wong Fei Hung was, it was clear from his tone change that Siu-Chun admired this figure, regardless of whether he was a fictional or historical figure.

“Really?” Mei scoffed, thought she seemed more amused. “So did Wong Fei Hung truly cause a fight between a unicorn and a lion? That is very historical.”

“This is coming from the girl who believes in soulmates and the moon rabbit,” Siu-Chun finally dismissed his sister’s taunt, walking off towards the front to put his slippers on. Yao and Mei-Lin followed suit, with the youngest continuing to patronize her sibling.

“That’s more realistic compared to talking lions,” Mei-Lin continued, mockery in her tone, traipsing out the door.

“Who is this Wong Fung Hei?” Yao asked, catching up with the two at the end of the hallway by the stairs.

He could see Siu-Chun widen his eyes, before he said, “You don’t know who Wong Fei Hung is? Haven’t you watched his films in the theatres back home?”

“The closest place with a theatre was Guangzhou, but it was too far and we didn’t have a truck,” Yao replied. “Actually, we would go to a work unit near Dongguan that my friend lived to watch a film whenever they released one.”

“What kind of films did they play?”

To this, Yao faltered slightly. Film back home was a tricky subject- after the Communist Party took power, the old opera films were considered scandelous, even Yellow.

“Is it true that all you guys were allowed to watch is communist propaganda movies?” Mei-Lin asked, as the trio started to make their way down the flight of stairs.

“Communist propaganda?” Yao questioned, the negative connotation clear in Mei-Lin’s question, though he himself knew that it was the case.

“Yeah, my teacher told us that no foreign films are allowed in PRC, and that all films are made by the government,” Mei-Lin replied, thought she seemed to falter slightly, likely at how Yao’s tone suddenly changed to a serious one.

“Well...yes and no. All the films that we watched had to be government approved,” Yao continued. “It was part of their censorship movement to ensure we weren’t influenced by old and outdated ideas.”

Which, for the most part, was true- most of the foreign films idolized the bourgeoisie lifestyle, and even some modern films made in China seemed to idolize the class differences in society, which are promptly branded as “rightist" films and banned from viewing. Most of the films Yao watched nowadays concentrated on the common man- the labourer, the worker, the soldier, the farmer. All of those whose stories aren’t glamorous and are often sidelined. And although Yao appreciated the reality the films often showed, there were also certain aspects that even he knew were meant to portray modern China as being better than it actually was.

The last film that Yao saw before the ban on certain was a Zhou Xuan film, called _Sorrows of the Forbidden City_ , where the singer played the role of Zhen Fei, the concubine of the Emperor Guangxu during the 19th century and attempts to persuade the emperor to create reforms for the benefit of the dynasty.

Yao loved the story despite knowing how the class difference back then was portrayed with indifference and was showing a very heavily glamourized version of China under the Qing court. And he loved it, and movies from the past, a whole lot more compared to the opera films that were being produced now- the music was entirely different then, the themes being more about love, though that was all labelled as Yellow Music and was now banned. The music he heard now was to boost national morale, and at times, he felt as if he were being brainwashed by how glorified his nation portrays itself.

“Are _wuxia_ films banned too?” Siu-Chun pressed, curious to know more.

Wuxia- mythical hero- was a term Yao has never heard before, but he was sure it was reminiscent of the tales of heroes from the past. If he were to think back, then it was likely the books in that genre were banned- when he was a teenager, he could no longer find the books of the stories he read of mythical adventures and folklore when he was younger in the Dongguan library.

“Never watched one back hpme,” Yao said. “If the tales were from the old times and it had mythical elements or anything of the old dynasties, then it would have been banned.”

“Then we should go watch one together,” Siu-Chun replied. “There’s going to be a new Wong Fei Hung movie coming out soon-"

“As there always is,” Mei-Lin interrupted, but Siu-Chun ignored her.

“And we can ask Ahma if we can go watch it. For your birthday, perhaps.”

“Who says Yao-Biu wants to watch it?” Mei-Lin continued, and before her brother could reply, Yao said,

“I don’t mind - it would be nice to see what kind of films you guys like.”

“I don’t like those movies,” Mei-Lin stuck her tongue out slightly. “It’s just a bunch of men yelling and fighting each other.”

“There are women who fight as well,” Siu-Chun finally muttered, rolling his eyes at his sister's words.

At this point, they had exited their tong lau and were now on the street, the festivities coming to a start with a large amount of people bustling on the road and the sidewalks. They quickly made their way to _Sweet Treats_ , with Mei-Lin leading them there as she continued to pick on Siu-Chun, and soon bought a handful of moon cakes enough for the family.

Once they returned back to the road, with a paper brown bag in hand, they could hear the sounds of drums beating in the distance, with the faint sounds of bells jingling along the beat.

Yao paused, a sudden wave of nostalgia washing over his body, recognizing the pattern of the sounds, and a childlike excitement surged in his stomach. Blurry imaged resurfaced, and he remembers - he remembers the yellows, reds, blacks, and whites that would dance along with the beat of the drum playfully.

“Mama! Look, lions!” Yao noticed a little boy yell in excitement as he dragged his mother by the hand in front of them, towards the direction of the sounds.

“Seems like they started the lion dance,” Siu-Chun noted, following his gaze towards the sounds, though they couldn’t see much with a big crowd forming down the road.

“Is Kit-go also doing the dance?” Mei-Lin asked, and Yao noticed how suddenly excited she was after mentionning this ‘Kit-go’ person.

“Yes, he should be,” Siu-Chun nodded, before looking at Yao. “Can we go watch the lion dance, Biugo?”

“I don’t see why not,” Yao replied, and Mei-Lin quickened her step towards the direction of the crowd, Siu-Chun following suite. Yao held to the bag tightly before following his cousins, attempting to keep up with their pace.

They managed to shimmy through the crowd, an found an appropriate spot on the sidewalk to watch the spectacle without straining their necks.

Yao had forgotten how the lions looked- the images were smudged in his memories but when he saw the lions in the middle of the crowd, the tableau was much clearer, and he stood in awe.

Two lions were in the middle- one black and one yellow, both with long bodies and a big head that was covered in fur, with pops of red and silver on each one respectively, moving and bouncing up and down to the cymbals and drums. There were two people who were underneath the lions, both wearing thick fur pants suited to the lion,with one holding up the head of the lion and the other holding the back half.

Despite knowing that there were humans controlling a costume, Yao found it fascinating how lifelike the lions were, as if they had a will and life of their own. The eyes of the lions seemed to blink in a lifelike way, with their round horns and black tails flapping up and down with every single steps it took. The coins around their necks danced along as well, adding more sounds and making the experience breathtaking to watch. They took specific steps and stances, reminiscent of fighting stances Yao had seen Siu-Chun practice in the living room. The black lion was taking the lead with the music, with a lot complex sequences and high energy movements that would cover most of the are around them.

“Is Kit-go in the yellow lion?” Mei-Lin asked, smiling as she watched, and Siu-Chun nodded.

“Yes, he should be the back of the lion.”

The yellow lion was truly one entertaining the crowd and particularly the children- the yellow one was much more playful with their movement, coming up to the faces of the crowd and opening its mouth, and jumping slightly when a child would grab at it’s white beard.

As the beat continued, Yao noticed that there was a man who stood by in a colourful outfit of a yellow robe lined with red while holding a palm leaf that he waved about here and there. The man had a mask with large lobes and a wide grin painted on it, and Yao was unsure what part the man had in the dance.

“Who is that?” Yao asked Siu-Chun, as he watched the man pester the lions with the leaf he held, making comedic movements has he attempts to ‘escape’ the lions mouth.

“ _Dai Tau Fut_ ,” Siu-Chun simply responded without further explanation, and Yao didn’t bother to ask,curving his lips up in amusement at the name- literally meaning ‘big head Buddha’.

He continued to watch the Big Head Buddha, and after another jab at the lions, the man pulled out his bag he had slung over his chest and he took the a little plastic table that he been sitting on and placed it in the space between the lions. The Buddha pulled out a stack of lettuce out of his pack, and Yao noted the red string that wrapped around the greens, and the little red envelope sticking out in between the leaves.

The crowd seemed to be more lively at this little reveal, knowing what to expect, and Yao watched intently, ready to see what was about to happen next. The two lions looked over to the table where the lettuce sat, their heads cocking to the side curiously, and they took similar steps towards the tables, following the beat.

Up, down, up, down- the head of the lion went straight up, the dancer’s arms stretching upwards as his legs lifting up in the manner of an animal’s two front legs, though much more sharp and swift.

“What are they doing?” Yao asked, not remembering ever seeing this little act before, and the lions started to circle around the table, eyeing one another, as if challenging the other to take a step forward.

“They’re going to fight for the red envelope,” Mei-Lin pointed out towards the lettuce. Yao raised an eyebrow at the word ‘fight’ and Mei-Lin must have noticed, because she continued. “The lion who gets the treat first will be able to get the envelope inside- though, this is mostly for a show, since they both are from the same school.”

“What do you mean?”

“Both lions are from _Kwan Academy_ ” Siu-Chun replied, Yao knowing that it was the name of the school Siu-Chun attended for his martial arts classes. “But there’s another school in Un Long that also teaches martial arts and lion dancing. They’re considered our rivals, for the most part. There’s been some issues with some of their members fighting with our members over the envelopes.”

“It’s not only over the envelopes,” Mei-Lin waved. “They just like to brawl with each other and try to play dirty by injuring the dancer and the costumes. It happened many times before- that's why Ahma doesn't want Siu-Chun to join the lion dancers. She thinks that Siu-Chun would turn out to be a gangster."

“Our school is much more honourable that to stoop to that level. Regardless, they’re not in this part of town- their turf is over the river. There’s no way they would come here,” Siu-Chun continued, before the beat increased, and the cousins returned their attention back to the lions.

They started to mimic the same movements, legs stretching up and down, quick shifts of the head forwards as if the lion was going to bite the other's head off, and Yao could hear people discussing who would win. It seemed like the black lion would win, it the over the top movements, yet the yellow lion's movement has become complex, along with more energetic. Though it was likely a performance that was already set up, eventually, the yellow lion gave the final move, with the back of the lion lifting up the front of the lion, to make the lion appear taller, and the bottom dancer moved a bit while holding the head dancer in the air.

Yao watched in amazement, catching a glimpze of the bottom dancer before he placed the head back down, allowing the dancer to open the lions mouth to engulf the lettuce.

The crowd clapped and cheered in amusement, and the lions bowed, thanking them for watching, before they danced through the crowd and away from the street, towards a sidewalk where a few young boys stood in a red shirt and black pants.

“Let’s go say hi to Kit-go,” Mei-Lin insisted, and at this point, Yao was curious to see this person that Mei-Lin wanted to see. Siu-Chun lead them to the side where the lion dancers were, switching with another group of people with furry pants waiting.

Yao followed along, not wanting to leave his cousins out of sight, and as they approached, Yao glanced at the two men that emerged from the lion costume- particularly the one that emerged from the back of the lion.

Yao almost held his breath, taken aback by the man he saw, and he instantly knew he was attracted to him. He must have been around Yao’s age, with dark hair that curled slightly down under his ears, and a strong jawline, both being the first thing Yao noticed. His eyes were big and long, suiting his round nose, but his body- his body was something else. He was quite big, taller than Yao (thought Yao was quite short for a man) and he could tell that martial arts has helped the young man achieve the kind of muscles found on his arms and back.

The young man with the wavy hair noticed Siu-Chun as he walked up to him, and handed the lion's body to one of the boys waiting on the side.

“Siu-Si, you came!” The young man said, ruffling his hair slightly to fix it, a smile on his face that just made his face much more charming. “I’ve been dancing here for over and hour and thought you were staying home tonight! I see you’ve brought your Miumiu along as well!”

“Hi Kit-go,” Mei-Lin replied, smiling oddly, and Yao could see how she rubbed her arms, a bit bashful. The man, who she referred as Kit-go, took notice of Yao, and there was a moment where he looked. Yao noticed his eyes flitting up and down, as if taking in Yao in his entirety, before asking.

“And who is this, Siu-Si?” He asked, thought there was no malice in his voice, and he smiled warmly at Yao.

“This is our cousin from the countryside- Wong Yao,” Siu-Chun introduced quickly before Mei-Lin could say anything. Yao bowed slightly, and Kit returned it, a knowing smile on his face.

“Ah, so this is the infamous cousin,” Kit replied, amusement in his tone. “Nice to meet you, Wong Yao. My name is So Man-Kit, but you can call me Man-Kit. Siu-Si has told me a lot about you.”

“Please, call me Yao,” Yao replied, his curiosity perked when he heard the last part. “What did he say?”

Man-Kit laughed, “Just that you were the coolest and he wishes you were his brother.”

“I keep this one in line. If only you know about all the trouble he caused when he was Miumiu age!”

“I don’t think Biugo would be interested,” Siu-Chun mumbled, his voice low and shy suddenly, but Man-Kit didn’t notice.

“I know Little lion seems quiet, but he can pack a punch,” Man-Kit came closer to Yao, as if to tell him a secret. “Once when he was a little troublemaker, he knocked off a kid’s teeth with a single hit!”

Yao was surprised at this bit- Siu-Chun has been a quiet and polite kid so far-, and he glanced over to see Siu-Chun’s reaction, who had a light red colour on his ears from embarrassment.

“That boy thought he could push me around- I was merely defending myself,” Siu-Chun quickly intervened.

“There were other boys who didn’t push you to the point as that kid,” Man-Kit grinned, thought he was looking at Yao mostly. “Of course Siu-Si is a good kid now- he’s the best student at the school in his year! You look like you could be a fighter yourself- have you ever considered learning Hung Ga?”

“Me?” Yao questioned, and laughed when Man-Kit nodded. “No, I’m really not interested in martial arts.”

“Hm...what about lion dancing?” Man-Kit continued, and Yao felt a strong attraction to his grin. “You would be good for acrobatic lion dancing- I’ve been wanting to do it, but I’d have to be the legs. Nobody is willing to be the head, but if you are interested, I would be willing to teach you some things.”

“I have terrible balance,” Yao replied, liking the way Man-Kit was maintaining eye contact with him. “And I'm sure it won't improve no matter how much I practice."

“It’s a shame,” Man-Kit slightly frowned, thought it was a playful one. He then said in a smoother tone, “You have the perfect body for it as well.”

Thought Yao had only ever had one guy who has ever flirted with him, Yao was sure there was something else to what Man-Kit said about his body. It sounded like he was flirting slightly, thought it could be Yao’s attraction to this man that’s messing with his instincts. There was no way this man was flirting with him.

“Stop trying to recruit people for your lion dancing,” Siu-Chun replied, not catching the moment. “Biugo more of a pacifist than a fighter.”

“Ah, I’m sure I can persuade your cousin,” Man-Kit finally broke eye contact, looking at Siu-Chun. “If he’s related to you, I’m sure he has a bit of a fiery spirit as well. He would like it- it's kind of like dancing if you really think about it.”

“Maybe I’ll come drop by when Siu-Chun has class,” Yao spoke up, keeping his voice light, slightly playful as well. “Then I’ll let you know.”

There was light twinkle in Man-Kit eyes as he chuckled at Yao’s comment, and Yao felt a shift in the space between them- was he always this friendly towards strangers? Or was he actually flirting with Yao? Maybe the first, but it wouldn’t hurt for Yao to try.

After Man-Kit talked with Siu-Chun a bit, Yao noted that Chun-Yi would start to become worried if they stayed out for too long, and the cousins started to make their way home, with Man-Kit returning to his troupe to aide the others with the costume.

“How do you know Man-Kit?” Yao asked Siu-Chun as they walked down the street, attempting to avoid bumping into people and ruining the mooncakes.

“Kit-go is an older student that helped with classes when I first started,” Siu-Chun replied, the sarcastic tone he carried with Man-Kit turning much more genuine. “He really helped me learn the foundations of Hung Ga and what it meant to practice martial arts. He’s currently an Assistant Instructor, and I think he’s trying to be a Master. He teaches at the academy full time- he’s really passionate about the art. He actually help found the lion dancing department at our school.”

There was admiration in Siu-Chun’s words, and thought he hid it well with his smooth tone, Yao knew that the young boy held Man-Kit in high regards- maybe even more so than his own brother.

“He seems to be an important part of the school,” Yao noted, and Siu-Chun nodded along.

“He’s like an older brother for most of us at the academy,” Siu-Chun added, and Yao noticed the flicker of emotion in his cousin’s face. “If anyone had a problem, whether personal or school-related, he was always there to help without any judgment.”

Yao couldn’t help but feel envy for Man-Kit- to be admired and held in such regards that people would want to come to them for support and inspire is something Yao wished he could be in his life. Yao lived most of his younger days without that person to confide in- even with his own friends, he had to hide many things about himself for the sake of saving face. He could never be that person back home, with no young relatives that he was close with in his village.

He would like to be that type of person for his cousins, though- within the month that he had stayed with him, he has grown very fond of the younger two, to the point where he would see them as his own siblings.

“He’s quite the talker, though,” Yao , and Siu-Chun sighed loudly, as if he was holding it in for a while and just now let it out.

“He’s like that with everyone,” Siu-Chun replied. “He was only asking you to bug me. He even asked Muimui if she wanted to learn Wing Chun at the academy.”

“I would do it if Mama would let me,” Mei-Lin hummed, thought it felt more absent than disappointed.

It became painfully obvious to Yao that Mei-Lin was more so infatuated with Man-Kit than seeing him as a brother figure as did Siu-Chun. But who could blame her; he was quite the looker, and even Yao was captured by the young man’s charm. He hoped he would actually see Man-Kit the next time he dropped Siu-Chun off to class.

“Like you would be any good at kung fu,” Siu-Chun responded, setting another bickering feud between the two as they walked into their flat complex. It would have continued if it weren’t for Chun-Yi, who had closed the tavern and was waiting for the three to return on the dining table.

“Hey, where did you guys go?” Siu-Keung asked.

“We went to get mooncakes,” Yao replied, gesturing to the paper bag in his hand, and Siu-Keung stood up to accept the bag.

“I thought you were going to be with friends tonight?” Mei-Lin asked Siu-Keung, who shrugged. Yao glanced over to Chun-Yi, who gave Siu-Keung a look- he figured that Chun-Yi must have told Siu-Keung to be with the family for the festival.

“No, I’d rather be home tonight,” Siu-Keung replied cooly, as if unbothered by his mother's look. “Besides, everyone is going to the roof to set off some fireworks.”

“Let’s eat before we go up,” Chun-Yi said, waving over the table she had set up. “The food looks amazing! Did you help Biugo or did he do all the work?”

“I helped!” Mei-Lin exclaimed, offended by her mother's implication, and she walked over to the table with a huff. “I boiled the taro!”

As the night progressed, the family eventually went up to the rood of the tong lau to meet with friends from the building. The tong lau overlooked a small park nearby, where the firework show was taking place. A few of Mei-Lin’s friends from the tong lau had bought some firecrackers up, and Yao stood by to monitor them as they hold a sparkler in their hand until it burns out, eating a mooncake from the tiny platter he had.

He watched Siu-Chun and Mei-Lin argue over another issue, this time concerning the sprinklers, and Siu-Keung hung back to the side of the roof with Yao. The moon hung high up in the sky, white and full, and the celebrations down on the street could be heard. There were other people who were on the roof of their tong lau, yelling words out to one another, and sounds of laughter filled the air. 

Yao glanced over at Siu-Keung, who stared out to the sky, staring with intent at the moon. He couldn't read his cousin's expression, but he could tell his mind was elsewhere and not here with them. 

"I wonder if Chang'e actually wants to stay up there alone instead of returning to her husband and family," Siu-Keung suddenly said, noticing Yao's stare. "What do you think Biugo?"

"They always say that she wishes to return home as well," Yao replied, unsure about how to answer Siu-Keung. "And by home, I assume she wants to return to our world than in the heavens." 

"That's what we think and that's what her husband wishes- who's to say she intentionally wanted to stay on the moon," Siu-Keung replied. "I'm sure she has more freedom up there than here on Earth."

Before Yao could reply to Siu-Keung, Mei-Lin bounded up towards them, sprinklers in hand.

"Yao-Biu! Come hold one!" Mei-Lin insisted as she handed a lit sparkler in his hand, smiling brightly. The white flecks bounced off the stick haphazardly, giving off a yellow light in the dark and lighting up Mei-Lin's face. 

"Would you like some?" Yao asked Siu-Keung, showing him the half piece of mooncake Yao did not touch, and he merely glanced at Mei-Lin. He accepted the plate, and Mei-Lin dragged Yao further into where the other children where playing with the lights.

Yao gave one last look at Siu-Keung, as an invitation for him to join them, but his cousin stood there, watching them with a neutral expression. He looked lonely standing there and Yao felt bad seeing him that way while he was with his siblings.

Like Chang'e watching over them on the moon, Siu-Keung watched, alone.

* * *

 

NOTES/TERMS

  * First stanza is from the song 'Chang'e Moon Goddess' by Zhou Xuan. Can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GOAlWPS0RM
  * Names names names  
Siu-Si : Lit. Little Lion. I thought it would be a nice pun of a nickname, because Siu (small) is apart of Siu-Chun's name
  * Manhua 
  * _Kuli_ \- okay, so this is considered to be a derogatory and racially charged term used against people, specifically Asian (both East and South), in the Carribeans, and although some places would use it and it's fine, in the context of the West and North America, it is an offensive term. There is an English equivalent that is mostly used,  _coolie_ , and although it means laborer in many Asiantic languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Chinese, it is pejorative, as indentured slaves are looked down upon and seen as inferior due to the work they do in the Carribeans (in Chinese, it translates to Bitter work)
  * Hung Ga is one of the Southern martial arts style that is considered to part of the three great martial arts in Southern China (along with Choi Lei Fut and Wing Chun, the latter being the most popular forms of kung fu thanks to practitioners like Ip Man and Bruce Lee). For all you Avatar: The Last Airbender fans like myself, Earthbending is actually based off of Hung Ga, with the low stances and the rigid forms.



 


End file.
